AS 



<!» 





Greenwich West 




A 

HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



BY 



ALLEN G THOMAS, A.M. 

'i 

PROFESSOR OF HISTORY IN" HAVERFORD COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA 

AUTHOR ()!•' "AxN ELEMENTARY HISTORY ok THE 

UNITED STATES," "A HISTORY OF THE 

UNITED STATES," ETC. 



D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS 
BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO 



T4-5 



Copyright, 1913, 
By D. C Heath & Co. 






©CI.A34688 

'it A I 



PREFACE 

The aim of this book is to give the main facts of English his- 
tory, from the earliest times to the present, in a simple and 
clear manner. The political, social, and economic development 
of the people is dwelt upon, and while the causes and results of 
wars receive adequate attention, the details of the wars them- 
selves are placed in the background. In the choice of inci- 
dents, grouping of events, and the proportion in treatment, the 
suggestions of the various Committees on the Teaching of His- 
tory have been borne in mind. 

The book has been written for American schools, and though 
space has been lacking to dwell with fullness on the connection 
between the histories of England and America, all will recognize 
how the early settlers brought with them to America the princi- 
ples of liberty and independence which had been gained by 
their fathers. The student will also recognize how the holding 
of these principles made the American struggle of the eighteenth 
century inevitable. 

In order to show more clearly the connection of events in 
England with those on the Continent, several chapters on conti- 
nental history have been inserted in the Appendix. These can 
be studied or omitted as the teacher may think advisable, or 
they may be used for reference. It has not been thought need- 
ful to carry the continental history later than the close of the 
Thirty Years' War. 

Special chapters on the social and economic life of the English 
people are given from time to time in the belief that, on the 
whole, such a method is the most satisfactory way of bringing 



IV PREFACE 

these important features of a country's history clearly before the 
student's mind. 

So many excellent books of bibliography have been published 
during the past few years that it has not seemed necessary to 
name more than a few volumes easily accessible. At the end of 
each chapter references are made to a few somewhat more ad- 
vanced histories of England, or of special periods, suggesting 
collateral readings, also to three or four Source-Books for illus- 
trative material. 

A large number of maps and genealogical tables have been 
supplied, which, it is believed, will be found useful. For the 
sake of shortening the text, some explanatory and supplementary 
matter has been given in the form of notes. Many dates are 
given in the text in parentheses, not for the purpose of memo- 
rizing, but for reference and to make the succession of events 
clearer. Numerous cross references are also given. 



ALLEN C. THOMAS. 



Ii.wi ki okh, Pennsylvania, 

May 3, 1913. 



CONTENTS 



Chapter 
I. 

II. 

III. 
IV. 

V. 
VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 



XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 

XXI. 

XXII. 



XI. B 



Prehistoric and Early Britain .... 

Teutonic Conquest 

Danish Invasions and West Saxon Supremacy . 
Alfred's Successors. Danish Conquest. Norman 
Conquest ......... 

England at the Time ok the Norman Conquest 
Norman and Angevin Kings; William I — Henry II 

1066-1189 

Norman and Angevin Kings; Richard I — John 

Norman Britain. 1066-1216 

Rise of the English Nation and Growth of Par 

liament 

Rise of the English Nation and Growth of Par 

liament (Continued) 

eginning of the hundred vears' war and close 

of the Middle Ages 

Hundred Vears' War (Continued); Social and Eco 

nomic Changes in England .... 
Hundred Years' War (Concluded) ; Wars of the Roses 
The Beginning of Modern England; The Tudors 

The Tudors (Continued) 

Edward VI and Mary 

England in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries 

The Reign of Elizabeth 

Struggle against Personal Rule .... 
The Puritan Revolution and the Commonwealth 
The Restoration and the Revolution of 1688 . 
England at the Close of the Seventeenth Century 



Page 

1 

12 

24 

33 
43 

53 
81 
93 

104 

114 

133 

144 
163 
187 
202 
227 
243 
252 
288 
321 
353 
380 



yi CONTENTS 

Chapter Page 

XXIII. Growth of Parliament \m> Party Government . 389 

XXIV. Growth of Parliament and Party Government 

(Continued) ......... 426 

XXV. Economic \m> Social Developmeni in Eighteenth 

Century 450 

XXVI. Efforts for Reform; French Revoh hon; Napo- 
leonic Wars 457 

XXVII. Era of Reform 475 

XXVIII. Era of Reform and Growth <>f Colonial Empire 488 

XXIX. Latest Years 533 

APPENDIX I. Brief History of Continentai Europe . 547 

APPENDIX II. Lists of Books m>r Supplementary Work. 626 

APPENDIX III. Importani Dates in English History . 629 

INDEX 637 



LIST OF MAPS 

Page 

County Map of Great Britain and Ireland . . . Cover page 2 

British Empire, 1912 Cover page 3 

Physical Map of British Isles ...... Facing 4 

Roman Britain, showing Chief Roman Roads ..... 9 

Teutonic Britain ........... 15 

Alfred's England .......... 27 

Cnut's Empire ........... 36 

Dominions of William the Conqueror ....... 55 

Dominions of the House of Anjou ....... 67 

Scotland in the Thirteenth Century 127 

English Possessions in France after the Treaty of Bretigny, 1360 . 145 

The City of London in the Fourteenth Century .... 153 

English Monasteries dissolved by Henry VIII ..... 211 

Ireland in the Sixteenth Century ....... 219 

Western Europe in the Time of Elizabeth .... Facing 276 

England and Wales. The Civil Wars of the Seventeenth Century . 323 

India in the Time of Clive ......... 436 

England, France, and Spain in North America before and after the 

Treaty of 1763 Facing 438 

Europe at the Height of Napoleon's Power ..... 471 

GENEALOGICAL TABLES 



Anglo-Saxon Kings ..... 

Norman Dukes ...... 

Norman and Angevin Kings to Edward I . 
Norman and Angevin Kings from Edward I 
Table of Scottish Kings to Robert I . 
Scottish Kings from Robert I . . . 
French Kings, showing Claim of Edward III 
Descendants of Edward III, showing Claims of 
The Tudors ..... 

The Stuarts ..... 

The Spanish Succession 

The House of Hanover or Brunswick 

Descendants of Victoria 

vii 



Lancaster 



and 



York 



32 
38 
52 
113 
121 
135 
138 
160 
186 
287 
403 
416 
532 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

CHAPTER I 
PREHISTORIC AND EARLY BRITAIN 

1. The British Isles. — The British Islands offer unusual oppor- 
tunity for the development of an independent people, for, though 
they are near enough to the mainland to make intercourse easy, 
they are sufficiently far away to make an attack by a large army 
difficult. The climate is moist, but free from the extremes of heat 
and cold ; and, though the islands are in the latitude of Labrador, 
the average temperature, owing to the prevailing southwest winds 
and warm ocean currents from the southwest, is about the tem- 
perature of Virginia. There are many islands in the group, but 
only two, Great Britain and Ireland, are of large area. 1 

The central and southern portions of England are comparatively 
level and fertile, while the northern portions and the greater part 
of Scotland and Wales are hilly or mountainous. The climate of 
Ireland is more moist than that of Great Britain, and the land is 
better adapted to grazing than to agriculture. The great extent of 
the coast line of Great Britain and the many good harbors offer 
unusual facilities for commerce. Great Britain is rich in mineral 
wealth : its mines of tin, copper, iron, and lead have been 
worked from very early times, and its beds of coal are among 
the richest in the world. 2 

1 The area of Great Britain is 88,729 square miles, and of Ireland, 32,360 square 
miles. England and Wales together are almost exactly equal to the area of the 
state of Michigan; Scotland is nearly equal to South Carolina; and Ireland is 
about the size of Maine. 

2 The northern part of Scotland and the whole of Ireland are deficient in min- 
erals as compared with England. 

I 



2 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

2. Early Inhabitants. — Scarcely anything is known of the very 
early inhabitants. At some later period these primitive men were 
succeeded by men of another race, who must have crossed from 
the mainland on rafts or in rude boats. These people, as relics 
show, were superior to those who had preceded them. They had 
stone axes and better weapons ; they made a rude kind of pottery ; 
they knew how to spin and weave ; they possessed sheep, pigs, 
goats, and dogs ; and they built rude huts, surrounding them with 
fields of cultivated grain. Moreover, unlike their predecessors, 
they did not leave their dead unburied, but interred them in long 
mounds called barrows. These men, it is believed, were of the 
Iberian race, to which may belong the Basques, a people who live 
in the Pyrenees. These Iberians were short, and probably of 
dark complexion. 

3. The Celts. — Later, possibly seven or eight hundred years be- 
fore the Christian era, the Celts came to Britain. They were tall, 
with fair hair and fair complexion, and, were famous for bravery 
and vigor. They had learned the use of metals, and the Iberians 
had little chance against them. Instead of destroying the Iberians, 
however, the Celts probably pushed them back toward Wales and 
the north ; to some extent, they appear to have intermarried with 
them. These first Celtic invaders have been called Goidels. 

After along time, there was another invasion of Celts ; these have 
been called Brythons or Britons. As their predecessors seem to 
have pushed back the Iberians, so the Britons seem to have pushed 
back the Goidels. A map of the British Isles, at the close of the 
Celtic invasions, would show the Britons in possession of the cen- 
tral and southeastern parts of the island, and the Goidels of the 
Highlands of Scotland, southern and western Wales, Cornwall, the 
Isle of Man, and Ireland. The Gaels of the Scottish Highlands 
and the Irish are descended from the Goidels ; and the Welsh 
from the Britons. 1 

1 The Gaelic language of Scotland, the Manx of the Isle of Man, and the Erse 
of Ireland are derived from the language spoken by the Goidels, but the Welsh of 
Wales from the language spoken by the Britons. 



PREHISTORIC AND EARLY BRITAIN 3 

The Celts were at first a people whose chief wealth lay in flocks 
and herds, and whose agriculture was of the simplest kind. In 
later times they cultivated farms and built rude villages. Later 
still, mining, commerce, and other occupations sprung up, hastened 
by the influence and example of more civilized immigrants from 
the continent. 

Their government was of a primitive type. There were numer- 
ous tribes, the members of which were connected by blood, or 
supposed to be connected, with the chief of the tribe. Each 





Stonehenge 
After a photograph taken in ioog 

family was ruled by its head, and he, in turn, was subject to the 
chief. There were laws and penalties in regard to certain offenses, 
but it would seem there were few arrangements for carrying them 
out. Every tribe had its land which was held in common and on 
which each man had the right to pasture his cattle, and he could 
get wood from a common forest. In addition to this, each family 
had a portion of arable land. Boundaries were often ill-defined, 
and as no man had a right to settle within the limits of another 
tribe, it is easy to see that there could be little union among the 
tribes and that occasions for quarrels would be frequent. 

The Britons worshiped many gods and possibly made use of 
human sacrifices. The priests and learned men of the Celts were 
called Druids ; they were also the judges, though it was their duty 
to advise and counsel rather than to punish in the modern sense. 
As none of the laws, history, or poetry of these Celts was committed 



4 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

to writing, our knowledge of them and their customs is necessarily 
limited and we cannot speak with certainty. 

The circles of huge stones found in various parts of Great 
Britain, of which Stonehenge in the south of England is the most 
noted, were long supposed to be Druidic temples of some sort. 
It is now thought that they were raised by some of the inhabitants 
earlier than the Druids, possibly in honor of ancestors. 1 

It was, perhaps, in the third or fourth century before Christ, 
that Gauls and Belgians in considerable numbers settled in the 
southern and eastern parts of England, and it is likely that to these 
later settlers belong the tribes mentioned by the Romans, such as 
the Cantii, Trinobantes, Iceni, and others. 

Naturally, the intercourse which these tribes had with the 
continent would be closer and more frequent than that of the 
earlier comers, and it is probably due to this fact that we find that 
they advanced more rapidly in civilization. They used gold coins, 
employed chariots in war, constructed roads, and built better 
houses, and cultivated more fields than did their neighbors. But 
the Britons were still far from being a highly civilized people. 
The greater part of the island was covered with forests, most of 
the tribes were barbarous, and even the best of them were far be- 
hind the Romans in the arts and comforts of civilized life. 

4. The Romans; Julius Caesar. B.C. 55. — The Romans first 
came into contact with Britain in the time of Julius C?esar. While 
he was occupied in making the conquest of Gaul, he learned that 
some of the tribes were receiving aid from Britain, and he deter- 
mined to invade the island, partly from love of conquest, partly 
to put an end to the aid given the Gauls, and possibly in the 
hope of gaining spoils. He started on his expedition in the year 
55 B.C. The effort to conquer Britain was unsuccessful, owing to 
storms and to the size of the vessels, which made it impossible to 
run them upon the beach and land the soldiers easily. The 
soldiers, however, did their best. They leaped from their ships, 

1 These circles are usually connected with burial places. 



PREHISTORIC AND EARLY BRITAIN 5 

waded ashore, and drove back die natives. But the storms kept 
the ships bearing the cavalry from coming to Caesar's aid, and also 
seriously injured those vessels from which the first detachment of 
troops had landed. So when the Britons, after some skirmishes, 
gave promises of tribute, Csesar deemed it wise to return to Gaul. 

The next year, 54 B.C., Caesar made another attempt to gain a 
foothold in the island. This time, though he won several victories 
and advanced farther into the country, his success was due rather 
to the fact that the Britons were divided among themselves than to 
his own skill. Cassivelaunus, the British chief, agreed to pay trib- 
ute to Rome, and Caesar returned to Gaul. But there is no 
evidence that Cassivelaunus ever paid any tribute. 

5. Roman Conquest. A.D. 43-85. — Ninety years after Caesar 
had left Britain, the Roman Emperor Claudius sent an army of 
40,000 men to undertake the conquest of the island. This time 
tribe after tribe submitted to the Romans, and in a few years a 
large part of what is now England became a province of the 
Roman Empire. During this war of conquest, Caractacus, the 
chief leader of the Britons, betrayed by his companions, was taken 
captive and carried in chains to Rome. It is told that as he was 
taken through the streets of the great city, he said to the Roman 
Emperor, " How is it that you who dwell in such grand palaces 
envy us poor Britons our thatched cots?" The Emperor, pleased 
at his words and his self-respect, granted him his liberty. 

For thirty years Roman Britain was in a state of almost constant 
warfare. Attacks from unsubdued tribes from without the bound- 
aries and rebellions within them were frequent. 

In the year 78 a. d. Agricola, an able general and statesman, was 
appointed governor of Britain. His first efforts were directed to 
securing peace. He appointed honest and just men to subordi- 
nate offices, he strove to correct the many abuses which had been 
common during the rule of his predecessors, and in every pos- 
sible way he showed the Britons that he desired them to be pro- 
tected against unjust extortion. His strong rule put down all 



6 HIS TORY OF ENGLAND 

attempts at rebellion, and by attacking the unsubdued tribes on 
the borders he did much both to secure peace and to enlarge the 
empire. He attacked the Caledonians or Picts of the north, but 
they retreated to the Highlands of Scotland where he could not 
follow. He therefore built a line of forts 1 from the Clyde to the 
Forth as a means of protection against invasions by these savage 
Picts. He extended the Roman boundaries to the Irish Sea and 
even planned an invasion of Ireland, but was recalled by the 
Emperor, who may have feared that his general was becoming too 
popular and too powerful, or perhaps he thought it unwise to 
extend the Roman conquests. The Emperor Hadrian visited 
Britain about 1 20 a.d., and built a wall from the river Tyne to the 
Sohvay firth. Sections of this wall still remain in a very fair state 
of preservation. 

6. Roman Occupation. 85-410 A.D. General Characteristics. 
— Under the six years of Agricola's rule, Britain had become 
a well-ordered province, and under his successors, the general 
policy of Rome in regard to her provinces was strictly carried out. 
A province was administered for the advantage of Rome, for the 
amount of revenue which coul 1 be secured, and for the profitable 
offices which could be given to Roman office seekers. The direct 
welfare of the people themselves was seldom taken into considera- 
tion except as it might benefit the rulers. In order that the desired 
ends might be gained, it was needful that there should be peace 
ami prosperity. Therefore a strong government was to be main- 
tained, communication between different parts of the country made 
easy, and all possible encouragement given to agriculture and the 
arts. 

Furthermore, it was the policy of Rome to break up any feeling 
of local patriotism. When a man in a province was drafted or 
forced into the Roman army, he was usually sent away to some 
distant frontier, there to form part of the imperial army. He was 
not called upon to defend his own home or province. Two results 

1 This is questioned by some authorities. 



THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN 7 

followed this policy: (i) he lost the feeling of patriotism and 
looked upon himself as the servant of the Emperor; and (2) the 
people felt no responsibility themselves, but looked upon the 
Emperor as bound to defend them from their enemies. 

7. The Romans in Britain. — Little record has been preserved 
of the details of the Roman occupation of Britain, which lasted for 
more than three hundred years. At different points throughout 
the country, camps were built and garrisoned by soldiers. These 




Remains of Hadrian's Wall 

places were skillfully chosen for ease of defense and for centers of 
influence. Not a few of them became cities and towns which 
have lasted until the present time. Such are Chester, 1 Lincoln, 
York, Colchester, Bath, Gloucester, Winchester, and others. Lon- 
don was doubtless, even in Roman times, somewhat of a commer- 
cial center. To connect the forts and camps so that troops and 
supplies could be readily and quickly furnished, military roads 
were constructed binding the camps and forts into one system. 
Some of these old roads are still in use, such as that now known 
as Watling Street, which, beginning at Dover, ran through London 
to Chester ; and the Fosse Way, 2 which ran from Exeter to Lin- 
coln, and there connected with a road to York. Built primarily 

1 Chester is derived from the Latin word castra, a camp, as is also the termination 
Chester in Colchester, Gloucester, Winchester, etc. 

2 So called from the fosse or ditch along each side of it. 



8 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

for military uses, these roads were also highways for travel and for 
the transportation of grain and various other articles of commerce. 
It is not too much to say that the roads were better and the trans- 
portation of goods and passengers easier and safer in the time of 
the Roman occupation than in the early part of the eighteenth 
century. 

The Romans were great town builders, and during their control 
of the island it is estimated that about sixty cities and towns were 
built, about half of which were fortified. In these towns, so far 
as practicable, the arts and luxuries of Roman life were introduced, 
and the numerous remains of baths, theaters, villas, etc., which 
have been discovered, indicate both the extent to which this was 
done and the wealth of the Roman proprietors. 

Agriculture was encouraged by the introduction of better tools 
and by improved methods of cultivation, as well as by new varie- 
ties of fruits, plants, and seeds. Marshes and fens were drained, 
lands reclaimed from the sea, and dikes built to preserve them 
from further damage ; the iron, tin, and lead mines were skillfully 
and extensively worked ; salt works were established ; and trade 
and commerce encouraged and developed. 

Besides these material improvements, the Roman law, which 
has served in many points as a model for modern law, was intro- 
duced, but it was mainly for the Romans and for the few Roman- 
ized Britons. Latin became the language of the towns, although 
in the country it made little headway. 

Much of the good that was in the Roman administration was 
overbalanced by evil. The taxes were burdensome and payment 
was often cruelly enforced. There were heavy taxes on all kinds 
of trade, and tribute both of money and grain was exacted for the 
support of the imperial armies and the use of the empire. Again, 
it was impossible to bring about in the island of Britain that close- 
ness of intercourse with the Romans which gave a semi-independ- 
ence to city life in Gaul and Spain. From these causes, the 
Britons had little training for self-government. 



ROMAN BRITAIN 



rfrff 



ROMAN BRITAIN 

SHOWING CHIEF ROMAN ROADS 
Scale of Miles 



25 50 



100 



b 



(Ebcheater)^ 
1 ^Lancbeeterj^ 



HERNIA 

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C E A N U S 



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Longitude West 2 from Gre 




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IO HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

When the Romans conquered a country, they rarely interfered 
with its religion unless it came into conflict with their political 
rule. In Britain the Druids, having incited their followers against 
the Romans, were ruthlessly put down ; but beyond this, there 
was no interference with religious observances. Little is known 
concerning the first introduction of Christianity. It is likely that 
the new religion gradually found a place in the island through the 
merchants and soldiers who came from the continent. By the 
third century, it had gained considerable foothold, for we hear of 
three bishops from Britain at the Council of Aries (314), but 
the influence of Christianity does not seem to have extended 
much beyond the towns. Among the missionaries of the early 
days three were noted men : Pelagius, Ninian, and Patricius, better 
known as St. Patrick, the apostle of Ireland. Christianity was not 
introduced without suffering and martyrdom. St. Alban, who 
is reckoned the first British martyr, was slain (304?) at Verulam, 
about twenty miles north of London, near where the Cathedral 
of St. Albans now stands. 

8. Withdrawal of Rome from Britain. 410. — By the middle 
of the fourth century, the power of the Roman Empire was de- 
clining. Its armies were no longer composed of Romans, but of 
foreigners ; taxation was heavy and there was little national feel- 
ing. The barbarians on the borders of the empire had increased 
in power and knowledge ; had learned the value of united effort ; 
and for the sake of attacking the common enemy, joined in loose 
confederacies. (App. 1, §§ I_ 5-) 

Early in the fifth century, the barbarians had penetrated far 
within the boundaries of the empire and were threatening even the 
capital city. The distant provinces could no longer be protected 
from invasion, but were left to themselves. This was the case 
with Britain. The last Roman legions were withdrawn in 410 a.d. 1 
to aid in defending Rome against the Goths, and from that time 
Britain ceased to be a part of the Roman Empire. The inhabit- 

1 Some authorities say 407. 



EARLY BRITAIN 



II 



ants still clung to the hope that the Roman troops would return, 
and nearly fifty years later sent a final appeal for help to the 
Roman authorities. "The barbarians," they said, "drive us to 
the sea ; the sea drives us back to the barbarians ; between them 
we are exposed to two sorts of death ; we are either slain or 
drowned." But this appeal was of no avail, for it was impossible 
for the Romans to send any aid. How much permanent effect 
the Roman occupation had on the development of Britain it is 
impossible to estimate with accuracy, but it is more than likely 
that it was considerable. 

References. — Green, Making of England, Introduction ; Green, Short 
History, chap, i, § i ; Gardiner, Student's History, chap, i ; Terry, History, 
Parti, chap, i; Tout, Advanced History, chaps, i-ii ; Rhys, Celtic Britain ; 
Scarth, Roman Britain ; Traill, Social Engla?id, vol. I, Introduction, chaps, 
i-ii, § I ; Cheyney, Readings, chaps, i-iii ; Colby, Selections, §§ 1-5 ; Ken- 
dall, Source-Book, §§ 1-2 ; Lee, Source-Book, chap. iii. 




A House of the Early Britons 



CHAPTER II 
TEUTONIC CONQUEST 

9. Teutonic Conquest Begun. 449. — As soon as Roman au- 
thority was definitely withdrawn, at the very time when union 
was most needed, strife arose among the local rulers, and petty 
jealousies and ambitions divided the people. Even during the 
Roman occupation the peace of Britain had been continually dis- 
turbed by the Picts and Scots on the northern border, and by in- 
vasions from pirates along the eastern coast. All these marauders 
made frequent and alarming attacks, and many of the pirates with 
their families established settlements, of which the earliest were 
probably on the coast of what is now Essex. 

At length, despairing of bringing about peace and order, Vorti- 
gern, one of the British leaders, is said to have invited Hengist 
and Horsa, two chiefs from what is now Denmark, to come to 
his aid, promising in return both land and money. Tradition says 
that they landed with a band of warriors in 449 at Ebbsfleet, 
on the Isle of Thanet, near the mouth of the Thames. Vortigern 
gave them this island for a home. 

10. Angles ; Saxons ; Jutes. 449-550. — The Teutonic people 
who had now come to Britain were of three tribes — Jutes, Angles, 
and Saxons — from the neighborhood of the rivers Elbe and 
Weser in northern Germany. They were bold and warlike, fine 
seamen, and dangerous foes. They were heathen, worshiping 
the gods of the Teutonic race. Their first expeditions were 
solely for the sake of pillage. 

The Jutes soon learned their own strength and the weakness of 
the Britons. Declaring themselves dissatisfied with their treat- 



TEUTONIC CONQUEST 1 3 

ment and reenforced, no doubt, by newcomers from the conti- 
nent, they crossed the narrow strait which separated Thanet from 
the mainland and ravaged the surrounding country, destroying 
the villas, houses, and churches. Of the inhabitants who escaped, 
some took refuge in the forests or in London, and some fled to 
Gaul and never returned. The captured were put to death or 
made slaves. The contest was a stubborn one, however, and it 
was about sixty years before the Jutes subdued southern Britain. 

In 477 bands of Saxons came, and landing on the south shore, 
west of Kent, were known as the South Saxons. A few years 
later, the fortress of Anderida (Pevensey) was taken by two Saxon 
leaders, who, says the old Chronicle, " slew all that were therein, 
nor was there afterwards one Briton left." After this victory the 
kingdom of the South Saxons (Sussex) was set up. 

Meantime, other bands of Saxons were invading the shores 
north of the Thames and making settlements known as those of 
the East Saxons (Essex). To the north of these came the third 
set of invaders, who were called Angles. These were to give their 
name to the island itself, for England is but Angleland. Little is 
known concerning their attacks and settlements, but there is no 
doubt that these were, in all essential points, like those of their 
neighbors, the Jutes and Saxons. By the close of the fifth century, 
the whole coast of Great Britain from the Wash round to the Isle 
of Wight was in the possession of the invaders. 

In 495 bands of Saxons and Jutes entered Southampton water 
and advanced to the interior. In a few years they took Winches- 
ter and founded the kingdom of the West Saxons (Wessex), over 
which Cedric became king. From him are descended nearly all 
the kings that have ruled Great Britain, including King George V. 
The advance of the Saxons was checked by the victory of the 
Britons at Mount Badon 1 in the year 520 (?), and for thirty years 
no further advance seems to have been made. 

1 The position of Mount Badon has not been identified. It was probably a few 
miles south of Salisbury. The date of the battle is not certainly known. 



14 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

Tradition says it was King Arthur, who by his words and ex- 
ample inspired the Britons to resist the Saxons, and who led his 
followers to victory. Whether this be so or not, the legends of 
King Arthur doubtless express the hopes and fears of the Britons, 
and give, in the form of romance, the story of their weakness and 
their strength, and of their efforts to conquer the invaders of their 
land. 

11. Teutonic Conquest Continued. 552-600. — The success of 
the Britons was only temporary. A new advance was begun by 
the Saxons in 552, and during the next twenty-five years almost 
continual victory was theirs. By 577 the country as far as the 
river Severn had fallen into the hands of the invaders, and they 
had succeeded in possessing themselves of the south central parts 
of the island, thus dividing the Britons of the west from those 
of the north and east. How far the natives were destroyed or 
pushed back is not clear, but it is likely that in these later con- 
flicts large numbers were spared and in course of time became 
intermingled with the conquerors. 

12. Early Teutonic Kingdoms. — Meanwhile the conquest of 
the island went steadily on, though slowly, for the Britons made a 
brave resistance. The Angles spread north and west from their 
settlements north of the Thames, and other bands came from the 
continent. By the close of the sixth century, the English, as the 
invaders should now be called, held more than half of what we 
know as England, comprising the eastern and southern parts, 
which were the richest and most fertile. Gradually the weaker 
chiefs submitted to the stronger, the smaller kingdoms to the 
larger, so that about the year 600 the land was divided among a 
few principal chiefs who were called kings. Of these kingdoms, 
those founded by the Angles were the most extensive. Out of 
earlier Anglian tribes was formed Northumbria, with York as its 
capital ; south of this, along the coast, was East Anglia, formed of 
the Northfolk (Norfolk) and the Southfolk (Suffolk) ; while west 
of these, extending to the Welsh border, was Mercia, the king- 



TEUTONIC BRITAIN 



15 




1 6 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

dom of the marks or boundaries. The central district south of 
Mercia and east of the Welsh borders was held by the kingdom of 
Wessex (West Saxons), whose capital was Winchester; this, to- 
gether with Sussex (South Saxons) and Essex (East Saxons), which 
correspond nearly with the modern counties of the same names, 
made up the Saxon kingdoms. The Jutes held Kent, the Isle of 
Wight, and a small amount of territory near by on the English 
coast. ( App. i, § 10.) 

13. Teutonic or English Civilization. 600. — We know too 
little of the life and customs of the inhabitants of Britain to say 
with certainty how far the English destroyed the civilization then 
existing. As the original home of the Teuton invaders w 
beyond the bounds of the Roman Empire, they had never come 
into close contact with the imperial civilization, as had their Ger- 
man brethren along the Rhine, who, to a large extent, had 
adopted the laws, customs, and manners of the Romans. It was 
far different with the English. They retained their own laws, 
customs, and religion ; so paganism became ascendant wherever 
they ruled. They treated the conquered with severity, laying 
waste, without hesitation, cities, churches, dwellings, and farms, 
and slaying the inhabitants or selling them into slavery. They 
kept their language, which became the tongue of the land and has 
remained so ever since. The fact that so few Celtic words 
remain in the English language indicates how completely the new 
language took the place of the old. And the almost entire 
absence of Roman terms of law and o( Roman customs shows how 
thoroughly the laws and customs of the English drove out those 
of the Roman occupation. 1 

The English had a well-defined civilization of their own on 
which rests much of what the English peoples now value most in 
political matters. Under Roman law the individual was of little 

1 The names of Roman towns still surviving indicate that some of the cities were 
not destroyed, and it may be that Roman influence was more lasting than is at 
first apparent 



THE ANGLES AND SAXONS I 7 

account; the state was everything. Under English or Anglo- 
Saxon law, the individual was of great importance and the free- 
man had great power. The Anglo-Saxons were an intelligent, 
though not a cultivated, people. They had little real literature 
and but a slight conception of art, or of the beautiful, or of the 
refinements and luxuries of civilized life ; but they were strong 
and hardy ; they possessed a capacity for self-government and 
organization, and they were self-reliant. They came to stay and 
brought their wives and families with them. They were agricul- 
tural in their tastes, and as soon as practicable, settled down to 
cultivate the land and to make homes for themselves. This latter 
trait has ever been a characteristic of the race, as has been shown 
so clearly in the history of the Anglo-Saxon or English colonists 
in America, Australia, and South Africa. No subsequent invaders 
were able to drive out the English. By them were laid the 
solid foundations of modern England, and to them are due the 
best and most characteristic traits in the English race wherever it 
may be. 

14. Introduction of Christianity. 584-597. — As England 
became quieter it is likely that intercourse with the Continent was 
resumed and the English were brought into contact with the 
Roman civilization of Gaul. That this intercourse was both 
friendly and influential is shown by the fact that about 584 Ethel- 
bert, King of Kent, married Bertha, the daughter of a Frankish 
king, Charibert. She was a Christian and was allowed to bring a 
Christian bishop with her to her new home. At her request 
the king gave her a ruined church where Christian worship could 
be celebrated. This was the beginning of a new introduction of 
Christianity into England. 

Ethelbert was a strong king, and besides ruling his own Kent, 
exerted a powerful if not controlling influence over most of the 
other kings south of the river Humber. This fact, together with 
that of his having a Christian wife, attracted the attention of Pope 
Gregory VI. Long before Gregory became Pope, the story is, 



IS 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



he had wished to go as a missionary to Britain, and one day he 
had seen in the market place at Rome some boys who were for sale 
as slaves. " From what country do these slaves come? " he asked 
the merchant. The answer was, " They are Angles." " Not 
Angles, but angels," he said. " With faces so angel-like. From 

what country come 
they?" "They 
come," said the 
merchant, "from 
Deira." " Dc ira, 
ay ! plucked from 
God's ire 1 and 
called to Christ's 
mercy ! And what 
is the name of their 
king?" They 
told him " /Ella." 
"Alleluia shall be 
sung in yElla's 
land," he said, and 
passed on. 

When he became 
Pope, Gregory re- 
membered Britain 
and resolved to bring back that land to Christianity. So he sent 
a monk, Augustine, who with a band of missionaries landed in 
Kent in 597. True, this was not the land of ^lla, but it was 
better suited as a place to begin the work, for it was easy of 
access, and, moreover, its queen was already a Christian. 

Augustine and his fellow monks were Benedictines, whose 
maxim was that work and religion should always go together. 
" To labor is to pray " was a saying of Benedict, the founder of 




Gregory \m> nn; Little English Slaves 



1 It is not easy to give the play upon words. Deira, the name of one of the 
English kingdoms, resembles the Latin words de ira, meaning " from wrath." 



INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY 1 9 

the order. The missionaries landed on the Isle of Thanet where 
Hengist and Horsa had landed one hundred and fifty years before ; 
the mission of this peaceful band was not to bring fire and 
sword, but peace and good will. 

Augustine and his comrades were received with great pleasure 
by the queen and with kindness by the king. He listened, 
through an interpreter, to the preaching of the missionaries and 
promised them shelter and protection, but he was unwilling, as 
yet, to embrace their faith. Augustine before long returned to 
Gaul to be made a bishop. He came back as archbishop, and 
having made Canterbury his headquarters, that church became 
the mother of the English church. To-day the Archbishop of 
Canterbury is the Primate of the Church of England. There 
does not seem to have been any great opposition to Christianity, 
but there was great indifference, and Augustine was able to set up 
only two more bishoprics, those of London and Rochester. 
Ethelbert's conversion was brought about within a year, but 
though thousands of Kentish men followed their king, he dared 
not urge his creed upon Essex and East Anglia. In fact, his 
efforts to do so in Kent resulted in the weakening of Kentish 
dominion. Under Ethelbert's successor, the political influence 
of Kent was lost, and with it Christianity received such a blow that 
it seemed for a time as if its life in England might be over. 

The coming of Augustine and his band brought the southern 
part of Britain much more closely under the influence of Roman 
civilization. The monks used the Latin language in their church 
services and in correspondence ; they were interested in literature 
and art, and they brought about a considerable degree of refine- 
ment in taste and manners. It was also probably due to the in- 
fluence of the monks that soon after their arrival the English 
laws began to be put into writing. 

15. Celtic Christianity. — Augustine and his band were not 
the first or only Christian missionaries in Britain. Some time dur- 
ing the fifth century, St. Patrick had converted the Irish, and in 



20 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

the next century the Irish church sent out earnest and faithful 
missionaries to labor for the conversion of the inhabitants of the 
northern parts of Britain. Columba founded a monastery on the 
island of Iona, and from this place other missionaries, notably 
Aidan, Cuthbert, and Chad, went forth. Aidan established him- 
self on Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, off the coast of Yorkshire, 
whence he visited the men of the mainland, urging them to em- 
brace the faith and winning them by his piety and self-denial. 
Cuthbert's mission was to the Northumbrians ; Chad's to the 
men of Mercia. The work of these Irish missionaries was most 
helpful to those among whom they went. Above everything, the 
people needed self-restraint, temperance, a quiet and peaceful 
home life, and a disposition to avoid cruelty. 

16. Council of Whitby. 664. — The good influence of the 
church was marred by a serious division among the monks them- 
selves, due to the fact that while the essentials of belief were the 
same in both branches of the church, some of the Celtic 
practices differed from those of the Roman. One of these had 
to do with the shape in which the monks shaved the crown of 
the head to form what is called the tonsure ; another related to 
the time of celebrating Easter. It was important that the English 
church should be in harmony with the Roman church, which was 
the church of the most civilized countries, and it was greatly to 
the benefit of England that at a council held at Whitby in the 
year 664, it was decided that thereafter the Roman customs 
should be followed. 

17. Influence of the Church. Theodore of Tarsus. 66S. Early 
Schools. — The church in Britain grew and was a great aid in 
bringing about the union of the people, for when the clergy met in 
councils to consider the affairs of the church, they met, not as from 
the petty kingdoms, but as representatives of one body. Thus a 
truly national church grew up and by its example helped to suggest 
the possibility of a national political union. 

Four years after the council or synod of Whitby, the Pope sent 




BEDE, ALCUIN, AND SCHOOLS 2 1 

Theodore of Tarsus to be Archbishop of Canterbury. He organ- 
ized the English church and appointed additional bishops, whose 
work was not only to convert the heathen, but also to look after 
those who had been converted. At a somewhat later period, 
parish priests were appointed, and church buildings were con- 
structed all over the 
land. The example of 
these local priests was 
even more influential in 
softening the lives and 
manners of the people 
than that of the mission- 
ary monks had been. 

Archbishop Theodore S t. Martin's Church, Canterbury 

was a scholar as well On the site of a chapel built in the Roman period 

■ I i ar >d still standing where Augustine landed in sg7. 

as a churchman, and The walls now contain some of the Roman bricks of 

. i . v .i . the original church. 

it was due to him that b 

a school was founded at Canterbury in which, besides the strictly 
religious teaching, instruction was given in arithmetic, astronomy, 
Latin, Greek, and in most of the branches of Roman learning. 
" That which distinguished this school, and others formed in imi- 
tation of it, was that the scholars did not keep their learning to 
themselves, but strove to make it helpful to the ignorant and poor." 
It was also due to Theodore and his clergy that the art of build- 
ing in stone was brought from the continent, and that stone 
churches were erected instead of wooden ones. In short, the 
Church of England to-day, both spiritual and temporal, rests upon 
the foundations laid by Theodore. 

18. Petty Kingdoms, 601-839. Bede. Alcuin. Schools. — 
During the seventh, eighth, and a large part of the ninth 
century, England was divided into a number of small kingdoms, 1 

1 The principal kingdoms were seven in number and have been called the 
Heptarchy; these were Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Sussex, 
and Wessex. But there was probably on period when it would be safe to say that 
they were all existing at the same time. 



2 2 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

which were almost continually at war with one another either for 
increase of territory or for supremacy. 

It was, however, inevitable that one or another of these king- 
doms should get the control over the others. At one time 
Northumbria was the strongest; at another, Mercia; and at 
another, Wessex. Meantime, though the boundaries of the Eng- 
lish were not much extended, the Britons, or Welsh, as they came 
to be called, hardly held their own. In 603 a king of Northum- 
bria succeeded in gaining Chester and the territory nearby, which 
was about equivalent to southeast Lancashire of to-day ; and his 
successor, Edwin, extended his bounds to the Firth of Forth and 
built a fortress called after himself Edwinsburgh, the beginning 
of the modern Edinburgh. He also brought under his rule Anglesea 
and the Isle of Man. 

About the middle of the eighth century, the supremacy passed 
to Mercia, whose king, Offa (757-796). was an able and energetic 
man. His object was to unite England under a strong monarchy. 
Besides gaining the overlordship of the other kingdoms, he added 
to his dominions in the west. To protect his possessions from 
raids by the Britons he built a wall of earth extending from the 
mouth of the Wye to the mouth of the Dee. This earthwork 
still exists in part and is known as Offa's Dyke. 

During Offa's reign the intercourse between England and the 
continent was frequent. It was the time of the Emperor Charles 
the Great or Charlemagne (App. 1, § 30), with whom, as a rule, 
Offa's relations were friendly, though he took good care not to 
recognize any of Charles's claims to supremacy over Britain. At 
this period the church schools of Britain, especially those at Jarrow 
and at York, were perhaps the best in Europe. Among the most 
celebrated monks was Bede of Jarrow, who wrote a history of the 
English church to which we are indebted for most of our knowl- 
edge not only of the early British church, but of early Britain 
itself. From the school of York Alcuin went to the court of 
Charles to be the center of literary influence in his empire, and 



THE UNION UNDER EGBERT 



23 



to aid in setting up those schools of learning for which the great 
Emperor is justly renowned. (App. 1, § 27.) Offa died in 796 
and the supremacy, not many years after, passed away from 
Mercia. 

Under Egbert (802-839) Wessex gained the leadership. Like 
Offa, he was only overlord of some of the kingdoms, but his 
power was stronger than that of the Mercian king. The Welsh 
kings south of the Dee also acknowledged his supremacy ; so in a 
fuller sense than any before him, he is what he is said to have 
called himself, " King of the English. 1 " (App. 1, § 30.) 

The union under Egbert was, however, the work of force and 
was maintained by force. In each of the old kingdoms there 
were families who claimed a right to govern, and these claims were 
allowed by their people. Should a king of Wessex arise who was 
unable to hold the scepter of Egbert, it was certain that the 
supremacy would pass away from Wessex as it had from Northum- 
bria and Mercia. A new element was needed to weld the grow- 
ing nation together and make England really English. This was 
found in the Danish invasion. 

References. — Green, Making of England, chap, i; Green, Short History, 
chap, i; Gardiner, Student's History, chap iii; Terry, History, Part I, chaps, 
ii-iii; Tout, Advanced History, chaps, iii-iv; Traill, Social England, vol. I, 
chap, ii, in part; Grant Allen, Anglo-Saxon Britain; Cheyney, Readings, 
chap, iv; Colby, Selections, §§ 6-7; Kendall, Sotirce-Book, §§ 3-5; Lee, 
Source-Book, chap. iv. 

1 In a charter of the year 828, he styles himself " Rex Anglorum," which, how- 
ever, may not, and probably does not, mean, in the modern understanding of the 
words, " King of the English." 



CHAPTER III 
DANISH INVASIONS AND WEST SAXON SUPREMACY 

19. Danish Invasions Begun. 787. — The Danes or North- 
men were Teutons like the English, but they were of the Scandi- 
navian branch. Their home was in what is now Norway, Sweden, 
and Denmark. They resembled in every respect the Angles, 
Saxons, and Jutes of the early days. Like them they lived in 
tribes, they were bold and hardy seamen, they were on the look- 
out for new homes, and they worshiped heathen gods as the 
early settlers had done. Their language closely resembled the 
English tongue. Their progress was a repetition of that of the 
English, for like them they came first to pillage, next to settle, 
and last to conquer and rule. (App. 1, §§ 37-40.) 

The first landing of these new foes appears to have been in 
787, and their attacks were so frequent that Egbert had to take 
active measures to repel them. After his death, the inroads still 
continued, and in 851 a band of Northmen remained all winter 
on the Isle of Thanet. Two years later, Canterbury and London 
were sacked ; a few years later, York fell before the bold assail- 
ants. By this time, many of the warlike characteristics of the 
English had disappeared. They had given up a seafaring life and 
had become landsmen ; many had become peaceful and pros- 
perous. All this made them an easy prey to the daring enemy. 
The custom of the attacking party was to sail into one of the river 
mouths, land their men, throw up an embankment of earth as a 
defense, and with this as their headquarters raid the country 
all around, slaying the people, burning the houses, barns, and 
churches, and carrying off cattle, goods, and whatever booty they 
could find. Then, before the king or chief officer could attack 

24 



DANISH INVASIONS 



25 




A Danish Ship 

The boat shown in the picture was found in 
1880 in a burial mound in Gokstad in southern 
Norway. It is 78 feet long. 



them, they sailed off to their home in Norway or Sweden or 
Denmark. 

20. Danish Settlements Begun. 871-878 (?). — It was not 
many years before the Danes came to make settlements, bringing 
their families with them, 

and as time went on, the 

invaders came in larger 

numbers and gained more 

and more territory. By 

871 Northumbria and 

East Anglia had fallen 

into their hands and they 

controlled Mercia. The 

kingdom of Wessex alone 

offered a strong resistance 

to the enemy. In order to escape ruin the English again and 

again bought off their foes with money, a policy sure to bring 

on another attack. 

With the acquisition of land, the second stage in the history of 
the Danish invaders began. The conquered land was divided 
among the victors, who at once began to cultivate and settle 
down upon their possessions just as the English had done 
four hundred years before. There was, however, an important 
difference. The English had settled in a land where a strange 
language was spoken and the people were of a different race. 
The Northmen, on the contrary, spoke a tongue closely allied to 
that of the English and they were of the same race. The con- 
sequence was that the invaders became so fused with the English 
that in a comparatively short period it was impossible to distin- 
guish between the Anglo-Saxon and the Dane. 

21. Normans in Europe. 787-912. — The Northmen also took 
possession of the Shetlands, Orkneys, the northern part of Scot- 
land, the Isle of Man, Anglesea, and parts of Ireland, all of which 
they held for two or three hundred years. 



26 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

Of their conquests on the Continent, the most important was 
that of a part of Gaul or France, which to this day retains the 
name of Normandy. Here the Northmen soon intermingled with 
their French neighbors, and it was not many years before the in- 
habitants of Normandy had changed their old language and 
spoke a French dialect, and they themselves, by the close of the 
tenth century, were no longer Northmen, but Norman-French. 
These invasions by the Northmen were only part of a great exodus 
from the Scandinavian peninsulas between the years 787 and 912. 

22. Alfred the Great. 871-901. — Egbert, king of the West 
Saxons, died in S39, anil for the next thirty years his successors 
were busy in repelling the Danish attacks. In the midst of 
the conflict, Alfred, a grandson of Egbert, became king. He 
was the youngest brother of Ethelred, the late king. It was the 
custom that the one of the royal family who was thought to be 
best fitted to rule should succeed to the throne. As it often 
happened that the sons of a king were young at his death, such a 
practice was well adapted to the conditions of that rough age, for 
the new ruler was likely to be an experienced' man able to take 
upon himself the care of the state. Though only about twenty- 
two years old, Alfred was in every way fitted to be the leader 
of the hard-pressed West-Saxons. No man in history has been 
more clearly the right man in the right place. The qualities 
ascribed to the mythical Arthur were Alfred's in fact, and not 
in fable. 

23. Treaty of Wedmore. S78. — For the first seven years 
of Alfred's reign, the attacks of the Danes were continual and 
almost his whole time was taken up in trying to repel them. In 
878, under Guthrum, the Danes were so successful as to force 
Alfred to retreat with a few men to a place in Somersetshire called 
Athelney, which was surrounded by almost impenetrable swamps. 
Here, safe from his foe, he was able to arrange the union of his 
forces for an attack upon the enemy. In the spring, he called to- 
gether his men, issued from his retreat, fell upon the Danes and 



ALFRED'S ENGLAND 



27 



ALFRED'S 
ENGLAND 




28 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

defeated them at Edington. So badly worsted were they that 
Guthrum was glad to make peace and accept the religion of his 
conquerors. Peace was arranged at a place in Somersetshire 
called Wed more. By this treaty it was agreed that England 
should be divided between the English and the Danes. The 
division line was to run along the Thames, the Lea, and the Ouse 
rivers to Watling Street, and along this highway to the "Welsh 
border. 1 Apparently, Alfred had lost half his kingdom, but it was 
not really so, for he had no real control over the part yielded 
to the Danes, and his claim was a source of weakness rather 
than of strength. That part over which the Northmen ruled was 
called Dane-lagh, or Danelaw, because it was subject to the Danes. 

For fifteen years there was little fighting, but in 886 Alfred 
gained London and the country immediately surrounding it. In 
893 England was again exposed to serious danger from the North- 
men, under Hasting, a noted chief, who, at the head of a band 
of warriors, attacked Kent. This attack gave Alfred the chance 
to call upon the people for aid, and for the first time to organize 
a national army. By his skill and the united support which he 
received, Alfred was able to repel the invaders. But he saw 
that, in order to protect his dominions, it would be needful to 
meet the Northmen on the sea, and so he designed vessels, larger 
and swifter than those of the Northmen, and manned them with 
Danes who had become Englishmen in their allegiance and inter- 
ests. This would seem to be the beginning of England's navy. 

24. Alfred's Peaceful Reforms. — The warlike achievements 
of Alfred are by no means his principal claim to greatness. 
From the very moment of his accession, Alfred strove to benefit 
his people. " He is the first instance in the history of Christen- 
dom of a ruler who put aside every personal aim or ambition to 
devote himself wholly to the welfare of those over whom he 

1 It is not possible to give the exact limits of this territory. Beyond the river 
Tees, part of Northumberland remained under an independent English king. It 
was called Bernicia. The date of the treaty is usually given 878; it may have been 
a few years later. 



THE REIGN OF ALFRED 



2 9 



ruled." After the peace of Wedmore he devoted himself to se- 
curing good government for his country. The years of constant 
warfare had left England almost without law and order. Alfred 
determined to restore them. Unlike many 
reformers, he was able to see what was prac- 
ticable under existing circumstances, and he 
aimed to secure that. He took the laws as 
they were, suggested improvements, and 
made all as simple as possible. He says 
himself in his preface to his book of laws : 
" I, then, Alfred, King, gathered these [laws] 
together and commanded many of those to 
be written which our forefathers held, those 
which to me seemed good ; and many 
which seemed to me not good, I rejected 
them by the counsel of my witan (§ 38) ; 
for I durst not venture to set down in writ- 
ing much of my own, for it was unknown to 
me what of it would please those who should 
come after us." Many of these laws seem 
to us cruel and unjust, for they were based ^S'''^^'' m? "\ : ^ 
on the principle of retaliation ; 1 but they 
were suited to that age, and were the be- 
ginning of the idea of a national code of 
laws. He did all in his power to make the administration of 
justice impartial, and severely reproved unjust judges. 

25. Alfred's Service to Literature and Education. — It was per- 
haps in education and literature that Alfred's work was most last- 
ing. The literary England of Alcuin and Bede had disappeared 




Alfred the Great 
Statue by Thornycroft 



1 The penalties were almost always reckoned in money : 30 shillings was the 
price of an ear; and 60 shillings if the hearing was impaired. A front tooth was 
8 shillings, a canine tooth 4 shillings. A forefinger was worth 15 shillings. If a 
man was murdered, his family could have revenge, not, as in the older days, by 
the forfeit of the life of the murderer, but by the payment of a fine called were-geld 
or blood money. 



3Q 



HISTORY UF ENGLAND 



under the ravages of the Danes. " When I began to reign," 
Alfred says, " I cannot remember one south of the Thames who 
could explain his service book in English." Not to know Latin 
was to be cut off from intercourse with the learned world, for 
Latin was the language of all educated men. Alfred set about 

IR1ST p/ESA€N 

^TmiMNGATM?"; 

omnu>nc ^nrtrcn.' rruEjtt fceoaeri ccc,<rlnnftoron 
bf-caheec&an dAghidcnh zchaccn-hca^on juccr 
yccvui- Stw Vrylran ad-.jtbc /icpucappfe un 
nvzcoluiMiai toncpeapo^can fop pr jc WcnJ 
up cymc5 (chmcgeA- 011 kim^PTCan <J**i c ' utcdcu 
iaMjtic role nvycci 




pc-pnma. rnorxiXninc role nvycci- t anuaju uf-g Ja*~^« »• 

^cjium hccoi\) Jlrto J-arr cmhc yif mhc j*ccce(j/ 

pjlpJnr aiJccer irwhcueT-courc3rnicJp«cnei.j»et 

tea oar un eyofic /urliv fiaTJu iiojreAaaw on 

pj^ccn^mjolAan /tctiTj'vkc cmfe f w, p c / t f M 

care \xc ce r olmonaft fK^ co a»ne bacon <?* , ^ p / 



mliaun-Tf-d/m 6 cc*aIoon^j*tnuajmr£f«f 
jrpoAc g: T»f>aj-. eafce a-^Uapt j*n<J f*rr envbe <*- 

Reduced Facsimile from MS. of Saxon Chronicle 

After a copy in the British Museum 

dispelling this ignorance. He sent for learned men to come to 
his court, where he employed them in writing and teaching. 
Some of these were Germans, some Welsh, some English like 
Asser, who afterwards wrote a biography of his friend and patron. 
Alfred established schools for those who wished to learn Latin ; but 
he decided that those who could not speak Latin should also have 
the opportunity to gain knowledge. So he himself translated 
for popular use Latin works on history and geography. When- 
ever he thought the accounts in these works were not full enough, 
he expanded or explained them or made comments. But this 
was not all. He wished that his countrymen should know about 
their own land, so he translated the Church History of Britain 



THE REIGN OF ALFRED 3 I 

written by Bede. (§ 18.) It is not unlikely that this led to the 
compilation or writing of what is known as the Anglo-Saxon 
Chronicle, or History of Britain from the landing of Hengist and 
Horsa on the shores of Kent. No other European nation has in 
its possession so early a record written in its own tongue. The 
Chronicle, which was continued after Alfred's death down to the 
middle of the twelfth century, was the work of monks in southern 
England. It varies in historic value, but the narrative is full of 
life and vigor. 

Alfred was by no means unmindful of the religious interests of 
his kingdom. He rebuilt monasteries and churches, and ap- 
pointed one of his daughters the abbess of a convent. He sent 
messengers and gifts to the Pope and supported religion in every 
way. He also encouraged the industrial arts and we are told that 
he instructed " his workers of gold and artificers of all kinds " how 
to work to the best advantage. 

Alfred had never been robust, and he died at the age of fifty-one 
or fifty-two. 1 He was a man whose life seems almost without a 
blot, to whom tradition ascribes no evil motive, and around whose 
memory nothing but good has clung. " England's Darling," 
"England's Shepherd," "Alfred the Great," are the names by 
which he is known. On the thousandth anniversary of his death 
(1901) a monument was dedicated to his memory at Wantage, 
his birthplace. It bears this inscription : — 

"Alfred found learning dead, 

And- he restored it; 
Education neglected, 

And he revived it; 
The laws powerless, 

And he gave them force; 
The church debased, 

And he raised it; 
The land ravaged by a fearful enemy, 

From which he delivered it." 

1 The exact date of his death is disputed. It may have been 899, 900, or 901. 
The latter is the generally accepted date. 



32 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

Anglo-Saxon Kings 

Egbert* 

802-839 

Ethelwulf 

839-858 

. I 

r 1 1 

Ethki.kai.ii Ethelberht Ethelred I Alfred 

858-860 860-866 866-871 871-901 (?) 



I 

EDWARD I Ethelflaed = Ethelred 

901-924 (" Lady of Mercia ") of Mercia 



Ethelstan Edmund I Edred 
924-940 940-946 946-955 



Edwy Edgar 

955-959 959-975 

I 



Edward II ETHELRED II "the Unready" 

975-979 979-1016 

(1) = Emma of Normandy = (2) Cnut of Denmark 

1016-1035 



Edmund " Ironside" EDWARD 

1016 "the Confessor" HAROLD HARTHACNUT 

I 1042-1066 1035-1039 1039-1042 

I 1 

Edmund Edward " Athling " 



Edgar " Athling " Margaret 

— Malcolm III of Scotland 

I 
Matilda 

= Henry I of England 

References. — Green, Short History, chap, i, §§ 5-6; Gardiner, Student's 
History, chap, iv; Terry, History, Part I, chap, iv ; Tout, Advanced History, 
chap, v; Grant Allen, Anglo Saxon Britain; Johnson, Normans in Europe, 
chaps, i-iii ; Collingwood, Scandinavian Britain ; Cheyney, Readings, chaps, 
v-vi; Colby, Selections, §§ 8-9; Kendall, Source-Book, §§ 6-7; Lee, 
Source-Book, chaps, v-vi, §§ 26-39. 

1 The names of those who reigned are printed in small capitals. 



CHAPTER IV 

ALFRED'S SUCCESSORS. DANISH CONQUEST. 
NORMAN CONQUEST 

26. West Saxon Supremacy. 901-959. — Alfred died in 901 (?), 
leaving to his son Edward a compact, well-ordered kingdom. 
The Danes in Danelaw were by no means so well united as the 
English ; and, moreover, many of the people even in that part of 
the country were English, and in case of a West Saxon success 
were ready to sympathize with the foes of the Danes. Edward, 
though a warrior, would have continued the peaceful policy of his 
father had he not been compelled to take the field against the 
Danes on his northern border, and against pirates on his south- 
ern coast. He set about the conquest of Danelaw, with the help 
of his able and brave sister Ethelflaed, the " Lady of Mercia," 
who, unfortunately, died before success crowned his efforts. 1 By 
924 nearly all England acknowledged him as king, while the 
Scots and Britons of Strathclyde and Northumbria crowned him 
as overlord. 

27. Edgar the Peaceful. Dunstan. — The supremacy of the 
West Saxons was continued under Edward's successors. Of these 
the most celebrated is Edgar, who reigned, 959-975. Under him 
England was so quiet that he received the name of " the Peace- 
ful." It is likely that most of the success of Edgar's reign is due to 
Dunstan (924-988), Archbishop of Canterbury. Like Alfred, 
Dunstan was content to try to do only what was practicable, and 
his policy was one of conciliation. The Danes were allowed to 

1 Ethelflasd, or Ethelfleda, the daughter of Alfred, married Ethelred, ealdor- 
man of Mercia. After the death of her husband, she became ruler and showed 
that she possessed in a marked degree the skill and ability of her family. 

33 



34 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



keep their own laws, and their rulers were Danes ; while over the 
Welsh, Welshmen were set in authority. Edgar was also an ardent 
reformer. He did much for education, which had been sadly 
neglected, and he encouraged changes for the better in the 
church. Commerce was revived, and it was in his reign that the 
foundation of London's commercial greatness was laid. 

28. Edward. Ethelred the Unready. Swegen. New Danish 
Invasions. Edmund Ironside. Cnut (10 16-1035). — Edgar 
died in 975, leaving young sons, and it was not unnatural 
that the nobles should quarrel about the succession. Through 
the influence of Dunstan, Edward, the elder son, was chosen 
king and was crowned ; but after a reign of four years he was 
murdered and his half-brother Ethelred, a boy of ten or twelve 
years, was chosen to succeed him (979). Ethelred has come 
down in history with the name of "Unready." The word really 
means " the Rede-less," or " without counsel." It has been said 
of him that " he was entirely without the qualities which befit a 
king. . . . He was always picking quarrels when he ought to 
have been making peace, and always making peace when he 
ought to have been fighting." His long reign of thirty-seven 
years is one of the most inglorious in English annals. 

It will not do to ascribe all the evils of Ethelred 's reign to his 
weakness. All Europe was in a state of transition during the 
tenth century, and conditions to many men seemed almost hope- 
less. " Old ties were loosening, old institutions were breaking 
down ; everywhere anarchy was taking the place of law." Dun- 
stan had seen that the best thing for England was the strong rule 
of the king, and he had helped to build this up. Against this, 
the great nobles had risen. The succession of the young sons of 
Edgar was their chance, and they had not hesitated to avail 
themselves of it. Deprived of a strong head, the country found 
itself unable to present a united front against enemies. The 
Danes now began to make new attacks. Ethelred bought them 
off again and again, raising the money by a tax called Danegeld ; 



ALFRED'S SUCCESSORS 35 

that is, Dane-money. As might be expected, this policy brought 
more Danes, who finally came in numbers too great to be bought off. 
Swegen, or Sweyn, the Danish king, was determined to conquer 
and rule in England. The northern part of England, which was still 
Danish in feeling, submitted to him, but the south was not gained 
without a severe struggle. Swegen at last was successful, and " all 
the people held him for full king" (1013). Ethelred fled to the 
court of the Duke of Normandy, whose sister Emma he had 
married. The next year (10 14) Swegen died, and his soldiers 
chose his son, Cnut, 1 to be king, but the English Witenagemote 2 
sent word to Ethelred inviting him to return ; but though he came 
back and resumed the throne, his authority was no longer un- 
questioned. He died in 10 16. 

Cnut had returned to Denmark, and, making himself king in 
that country, had collected a fleet to subdue England. As soon 
as his ships appeared, many of the English submitted to him. 
Ethelred's son and natural successor, Edmund, had shown 
himself so able a warrior that he received the name of Iron- 
side. Cnut, however, disputed Edmund's claim, and "a year 
of battles" (1016) followed without decisive results. The two 
claimants then agreed to divide the land between them, Edmund 
taking Wessex. Edmund died late in 1016, 3 and Cnut became 
king of England. 

29. Cnut. 1016-1035. — Cnut has come down in history 
with the title of Great, and he deserves it. Like some other 
monarchs who have come to power in rough times, or by 
questionable means, he does not seem to have been naturally 
cruel. He spared no one whom he considered dangerous, but 
when such were out of the way, he was moderate, just, and even 

i This name is spelled Cnut, Knut, and Canute, the last being the one by which 
he is familiarly known. The accent should be on the last syllable. 

2 The Witenagemote, or Council of Wise Men. (§ 38.) 

3 At the time of his death Edmund was about twenty-three, and his rival about 
twenty-two. It is charged by later historians that Edmund was murdered, but con- 
temporary writers make no such assertion. 



36 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



gentle. He introduced the practice of having a bodyguard. 
This, which protected him from the attack of any of the nobles as 
well as from an open foe, was the nucleus of a standing army. 
He divided England into great districts, 1 over each of which he 
placed an officer called an Earl (from the Danish Jarl). 




M w I i! Cm c's Km I 

Cnut appointed Englishmen to many of these positions, thereby 
binding them to himself and avoiding the appearance of foreign 
rule. His kingdom did not extend beyond the Tweed, but the 
Scottish king acknowledged him as overlord. He conquered 
Norway and gained Denmark at his brother's death. Thus his 
dominions were more extensive than those of any king of England 
before him. Upon his marriage with Emma, the widow of Ethel- 
red, friendly relations were established with Normandy. 

Though his continental possessions were larger than his English 
holdings, he favored the latter. He is said to have restored the 
laws of Edgar, and he was a considerate and wise monarch as 
well as a strong one. He reverenced religion and went on a 
pilgrimage to Rome. From that city he wrote to his subjects : 
" I have vowed to God to live a right life in all things ; to rule 
justly and piously my realms and subjects, and to administer just 

1 The principal divisions were Mercia, Northumberland, and Wessex, which 
included Kent. Hast Anglia was a fourth, but the boundaries of this varied. 
There were at times other earldoms set up, as seemed to be needful. 



ALFRED'S SUCCESSORS 



37 



judgment to all. If, heretofore, I have done aught beyond what 
is just, through headiness or negligence of youth, I am ready, with 
God's help, to amend it utterly." There is no reason to doubt 
that he meant exactly what he said. He died in 1035, 1 to tne 
great grief of his people. 

30. Harthacnut and Harold ; Edward the Confessor ; Godwin. 
1035-1066. — Cnut's two sons, Harthacnut and Harold, were un- 
worthy of their father ; England was again troubled with civil war 
and the kingdom fell apart. The succession was disputed ; 
Harthacnut was recognized in the south, and Harold in the north. 
But as Harthacnut, who was in Denmark, remained there, he was 
deposed by the people, who gave their allegiance to Harold, 
who thus secured the kingdom. At Harold's death, Harthacnut 
became king. Both these men were rude, barbarous rulers, and 
the whole country was glad to be rid of them. 

Through the influence of Earl Godwin, the most powerful 
English nobleman, Edward, the son of Ethelred and the Norman 
Emma, was chosen king. Known as " the Confessor," because of 
his piety, he probably would have made an excellent private citi- 
zen, but he was an unwise king. He had passed almost all his 
earlier years at the Norman court and was a thorough Norman in 
all his tastes. He filled his court with Normans and bestowed on 
them all the positions that he could. Though he married 
Godwin's daughter, his Norman tastes and his favoritism brought 
about strife between him and the stanch English earl. After 
nine years, Godwin and his family were forced to fly to the 
Continent, and Edward's wife was sent to a nunnery (105 1). 
The next year Godwin came back, the tide of popular feeling 
turned in his favor, and many of the Norman favorites of Edward 
were banished. The same year Godwin died and his place was 
taken by Harold, one of his sons. Edward was under the in- 
fluence of Godwin's family for the rest of his reign. Edward 
died in January, 1066, leaving no children. 

1 The date of Cnut's birth is not known ; it was probably not earlier than 994. 



38 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

31. Harold II. 1066. — As Edward left no direct heirs 
the choice of a king fell lawfully upon the Witenagemote, or 
national assembly. This body chose Harold Godwinson, who was 
a skillful warrior and an able man. There was no one in England 
better fitted for the position. "He set himself," says one of the 
old chronicles, "to remove unjust laws, and to devise good ones 
... ; he showed himself dutiful, courteous and kindly to all 
good men, but a terror to ill doers . . . and set himself ener- 
getically to provide for the defense of the country by land and 
sea." ! 

Harold's brief reign was chiefly taken up with efforts to retain 
his crown. His first difficulties were due to foes of his own house- 
hold, for his brother, Tostig, who had been deprived of the earl- 
dom of Northumbria, had allied himself with a fierce sea-rover, 
and was trying to recover his earldom by force. The armies 
met at Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire, and Tostig was defeated. 
Three days after the battle, a new foe landed on the south coast 
of England, and Harold with all the forces he could collect 
marched south to meet him. This new foe was William, Duke 
of Normandy. 





Norman Duke3 

ROLLO 

1 
William " Longsword " 

927-942 

1 
Richard I 

942-996 

1 


: 

Richard II 
996-1026 ' 

' 1 




1 
Emma 

= (1) Ethelred " the Unready 

(2) Cnut, the Dane 


<ichard III 
1026- 1028 


1 
Robert "the Devil" 

1028-1035 





William the Conqueror 
1066-1087 (king of England) 

1 Florence of Worcester ; 1066. 



WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR 



39 



32. William the Norman. 1066. — William, a descendant 
of Rollo, the Northman (§ 20), born in 1027, was the son 
of Robert " the Devil " and a tanner's daughter, and succeeded 
to the dukedom of Normandy when a boy. William was a 
man of extraordinary ability. " There was never a moment 
from his boyhood when 
he was not among the 
greatest of men. His 
life was one long mas- 
tering of difficulty after 
difficulty. . . . The 
very spirit of the ' sea- 
wolves ' . . . seemed 
embodied in his gigan- 
tic form, his enormous 
strength, his savage 
countenance, his des- 
perate bravery, the 
fury of his wrath, the 
ruthlessness of his re- 
venge." Notwith- 
standing this inherit- 
ance from his Scan- 
dinavian forefathers, he 
was a friend to learn- 




Tomb of Edward the Confessor 
Westminster Abbey 



ing, a supporter of the church, and a statesman. 

William claimed the crown of England as soon as he heard of 
the death of Edward the Confessor. He based his claim chiefly 
on two circumstances : first, that when he had visited England, 
Edward had promised him .the crown ; and second, so William 
asserted, that when Harold some years before had been ship- 
wrecked on the coast of France, he had sworn to William, in order 
to regain his liberty, that he would support the latter's claim to 
the crown on Edward's death. 



40 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

Strictly speaking, William claimed rather the right of present- 
ing himself to the Witenagemote for election, as commended by 
Mi 1 ward the Confessor. Harold's election he regarded as invalid. 
Besides this, he claimed to be acting for the church, for the Nor- 
man Archbishop of Canterbury had been displaced and another 
consecrated by an antipope, 1 had been put in his place. To 
attack England, therefore, was to uphold the laws of the church. 
However plausible these reasons might seem to men on the Conti- 
nent, they had no weight in England, and doubtless to William 
himself they were merely put forth as pretexts for a war of con- 
quest on which he was resolved. According to English law and 
custom, the crown was not Edward's to promise, nor could 1 [arold 
control the choice of the Witenagemote. 

33. Norman Invasion ; Battle of Hastings ; William becomes 
King. 1066. — The Norman subjects of William felt little eager- 
ness to support him in an invasion of England, but he was not a 
man to be hindered by small obstacles. During the whole summer 
of 1066 he was building ships and collecting forces for his great 
enterprise, not only from Normandy but from other countries also. 2 
He sailed from Normandy with a large fleet, and landed (September 
28, 1066) at Pevensey, on the south coast, not far from Hastings. 

Harold hurried from the north to meet his antagonist. Had 
he been supported by a united England, it is possible that 
William might have been repulsed, but some of the powerful 
earls held aloof. The armies met at Senlac hill near Hastings, 
October 14, 1066. The battle was stubbornly contested, and it 
was not until sundown when Harold, pierced by an arrow in his 
right eye, fell dead, that the English were defeated. But the 
country was not yet conquered. The Witenagemote at London, 

1 An antipope was one who claimed to be the Pope, but whose claim was dis- 
puted. 

2 The fact that many of his followers were not Normans may partly explain the 
reason why William gave his followers so much land. They were actuated by 
mercenary motives and demanded their reward. William was compelled to seize 
and confiscate much property. 



THE NORMAN CONQUEST 



41 



on receiving the news of Harold's death, elected Edgar Atheling, 
grandson of Edmund Ironside, as king. William marched on 
London, and cutting it off from communication with the rest of 
the country, had it at his mercy. On this, Edgar and those who 
had chosen him, yielded to William ; another meeting of the 
Witenagemote was held, and William was chosen king. He was 
crowned on Christmas Day, 1066, in the abbey recently built by 
Edward the Confessor at Westminster. 1 




Part of the Battle of Hastings 
Normans on the left and English on the right. After the Bayeux Tapestry. 2 

34. The Normans and their Influence. — It is generally claimed 
that the success of William was the best thing for England. 3 But 
this view is open to question. It is true that the Normans 

1 This was not the abbey now at Westminster, which was built later. Since 
William's time, with but few exceptions, all English sovereigns have been crowned 
at Westminster. 

2 One of the most interesting authorities for the Norman Conquest is the 
Bayeux Tapestry, preserved for many years in the cathedral of Bayeux, Nor- 
mandy, and now to be seen in the Bayeux Museum. It is a strip of coarse linen 
cloth 230 feet 9^ inches long by 195 inches wide. It is embroidered in worsted 
thread of eight different colors, and the scenes illustrate the history of the Norman 
Conquest. It is supposed by some that it is the work of Matilda, the wife of 
William, but this is very unlikely. This tapestry is almost without doubt contem- 
poraneous with the conquest. It has been photographed and published in reduced 
size. A full-sized reproduction, colored after the original, is in the South Kensington 
Museum, London. 

8 It must not be overlooked that most of our authorities for the history of the 
conquest are Norman. 



4 2 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



brought organization, a strong central government, and a closer 
intercourse with the Continent. But these benefits might have 
come in some other way. Harold was " wise, merciful, and 
stronghanded," and there is good reason for thinking that he would 
have ruled after the pattern of Alfred or of the later years of 
Cnut. It will not do to assume that he would not have been able 
to bring order out of the chaos. Very much that was gained by 
the mixture of Norman character might have come through the 
slower but more peaceful means of trade and normal intercourse 
with the Continent. So far as civilization is concerned, the Eng- 
lish were ahead of the Normans. They had a superior literature 
of their own ; they were skilled in the illumination of manuscripts, 
in weaving, goldsmith's work, and other arts. They were familiar 
with the natural sciences, the medicine, and the grammar of their 
day. In architecture also they were abreast of the times. Only 
in political development and organization do they seem to have 
been lacking. Even for political development it can hardly be 
doubted that the prolonged rule of men whose chief interests 
lay in France was in many ways hurtful. They involved England 
in long, expensive, and destructive wars in which the English had 
little if anything to gain, and they must have checked to a con- 
siderable degree that development under national influences which 
would have been England's lot. They did not even give England 
permanent order, for no Anglo-Saxon period equals in anarchy the 
reign of Stephen ; nor did they guard personal liberty, for the 
tyranny of William Rufus, or John, or even of Henry I, is un- 
matched in Anglo-Saxon annals. The undoubted benefits of Nor- 
man rule were gained at a great cost. William was a conqueror, 
pure and simple, and what he did he did from selfish motives. 

References. — Green, Short History, chap, i , § 6-chap. ii, § 4; Gardiner, 
Student's History, chaps, v-vi; Terry, History, Part I, chap, v - Part II, chap, 
i ; Tout, Advanct d History, chaps, vi-viii ; Grant Allen, Anglo-Saxon Britain : 
Johnson, Normans in Europe, chaps, viii-xii; Cheyney, Readings, chaps, v- 
vi; Colby, Selections, §§ 10-13; Kendall, Source-Book, §§ 8-13; Lee, Source- 
Book, chap, vi, § 40-chap. vii, § 45. 



CHAPTER V 
ENGLAND AT THE TIME OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST 

35. Old English Domestic Life. — By the middle of the eleventh 
century English life and customs had become well established. 
England was primarily an agricultural country, whose people, for 
mutual protection, lived in villages. The cottages of which these 
villages were composed had but one story and generally but one 
room. The walls were made of poles or branches of trees woven 
somewhat like a basket, and then covered with mud or plaster: 
The roof was thatched with straw. The floor was of earth, and 
in the single room was a rough table, two or three benches, and a 
litter of straw for a bed. Sometimes a place would be partitioned 
off for a sleeping apartment, but usually the inmates would throw 
themselves upon the straw for the night in the common room with-, 
out undressing, for night garments are the product of a later age. 

Poultry, pigs, and other domestic animals came in and out of 
the house pretty much as they pleased, especially in wet or cold 
weather. There were no chimneys, and when it was practicable, 
cooking was done out of doors ; at other times the smoke found 
its way through a hole in the roof or where it could. Wood was 
the fuel used. The waste and offal were thrown out without regard 
to neatness or health, for drainage and sanitary arrangements of all 
kinds were unknown. 

Near the cottage was a small field where vegetables were raised 
for the family. Pork, poultry, eggs, vegetables, fruit, and cheese 
were the usual diet, to which must be added ale and beer. The 
English were great meat eaters ; bread, though not uncommon, 
was often costly owing to frequent bad crops, while from the 

43 



44 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



difficulty of transportation, grain could not be brought from other 
neighborhoods where there might be an abundant supply. 

The dwellings of the better class were generally of timber. 
They were usually surrounded by an embankment or wall of earth, 
which itself was protected on the outside by a moat or ditch. 
The building was often of but one story. A large hall with a high 
roof was the most conspicuous feature. Here great feasts were 
held, and it was the common meeting place of the family. A long 
table occupied a prominent place ; at the raised upper end the lord 
and lady and favored guests sat. Round the walls were benches 
used at meals and sometimes for couches at night, though perhaps 
the ground was oftener the resting place. On the walls hung 
curtains embroidered by the women, and on pegs hung imple- 
ments of the chase, arms and armor. A fire in the middle of 
the hall afforded heat and also light, though candles were some- 
times used. Meals were breakfast, often about five; dinner, 
usually at noon, though sometimes as early as nine, or as late as 
three o'clock; and supper. 1 There was often a tablecloth, and a 
scanty supply of knives l and spoons, but the fingers were generally 
used. There was a saying. " Set never on fish, flesh, or fowl more 
than two fingers and a thumb." Even in wealthy homes pieces of 
bread not infrequently took the place of plates. Food was plentiful, 
consisting, besides vegetables, of mutton, pork, poultry, fish, eels, 
cheese, and honey. Tea and coffee were unknown, and honey 
took the place of the expensive sugar of that day. 

There was much hard drinking and coarse revelry, especially 

1 An old French rime, although of a somewhat later period, probably repre- 
sents this period also: — 

Lever a cinque, diner a neuf, 
Souper a cinque, coucher a neuf, 
Fait vivre d'ans nonante et neuf. 
Or in English : — 

To rise at five, to dine at nine, 
To sup at five, to bed at nine, 
Makes a man live to ninety and nine. 

2 Forks did not come into general use until about 1610. 



ENGLAND IN THE TENTH CENTURY 



45 



after the ladies had retired. Feasts were enlivened by the songs 
and music of wandering minstrels, harpers, and musicians of 
various kinds, and by jugglers and jesters. 

Lower roofed rooms for the family, and particularly for the 
women, were ranged along the side walls, with entrances some- 
times from the courtyard. Here, too, was the " ladies' bower," 
used both as a living and a sleeping room. The couches were 
often in recesses hidden by curtains, and were well furnished with 




The Great Hall in an English Noble's House in the Tenth Century 

pillows, bolsters, and coverings. There were stools and a table, 
but rarely chairs. Besides all this there were storerooms, kitchens, 
and other apartments. Glazed windows were almost unknown, 
and board shutters kept out rain and wind. The walls were of 
such poor construction that the hangings were not so much for 
ornament as to keep out draughts. 

Linen and woolen materials were used for clothing, which in 
general was simple. The men wore next the body a close-fitting 
tunic reaching to the knees ; over this was a short cloak fastened 
with a brooch on the breast or right shoulder. The legs were 



46 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

covered with tight breeches ; leather stockings, above which was 
wound something like a bandage, and long, black, pointed shoes 
completed the attire. The women wore a long gown, and over it 
a tunic with flowing sleeves, and above this a kind of mantle 
reaching nearly to the feet. A hood often of great length covered 
the head. The women wore their hair short and curled, while 
the men wore theirs long, parted in the middle, and hanging be- 
hind the ears. Both men and women were fond of jewelry. 

Among the upper classes hunting, hawking, archery, and trials 
of athletic skill were common, the first two being the favorites. 
Chess, checkers, the feats of jugglers, songs and music were their 
indoor amusements. 

36. Architecture ; Towns. — In early days even the churches 
were built of wood, bill by the close of the tenth century these 
were often, if not usually, constructed of stone, and by 1066 
England had a well-developed and characteristic architecture. 
The abbey church at Westminster built by Edward the Confessor 
was equal at the time to anything on the continent. 1 

For many years towns were few, but by the beginning of the 
eleventh century they had increased in number. The buildings in 
these, except the church, were of wood and suffered much from 
fires. A town was surrounded by an earthen wall, a stockade, 
and a ditch. Sanitary measures were unknown, and diseases when 
they appeared made great ravages among the inhabitants. There 
was usually a market and some trade. But many of the inhabi- 
tants were farmers who came to the town at night and at other 
times for protection. Some of the towns grew up in the neighbor- 
hood of the great monasteries, as at Lichfield ; others, such as 
London, Chester, York, and Lincoln, were successors of the old 
Roman cities. In these towns there naturally grew up different 
industries, such as weaving, carving, working in wood and metal 
and leather, making jewelry, and other arts ; when the town was 
on or near the sea, fishing and commerce sprung up. 

1 It was destroyed by Henry III in 1275, to make room for the present abbey. 



ENGLAND AT THE TIME OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST 47 

37. Land; Classes. — About half the surface of England was 
occupied by forests, heaths, and marsh or fen land. The forests 
afforded hunting for the kings and nobles, and in them too were 
large herds of swine which fed on acorns, etc. Agriculture was 
mostly confined to the lower lands. The population at the time 
of the Norman Conquest has been estimated at about 1,500,000. 
London had about 10,000; York and Winchester each about 
5000. The system of landholding even by the middle of the 
tenth century had not become uniform in England. The northern 




Military, Civil, and Ecclesiastical Costumes in the Eleventh Centuky 

part was still a country of freeholders, men who owned their 
land and in local affairs practically ruled themselves. In the 
southern counties or shires the feudal system, or a modification 
of it, prevailed. Land was held on condition of a service of some 
kind to the king, the nobles, or the church. This service was 
called trinoda necessitas, or threefold duty, which was to serve 
in the army or navy, repair roads and bridges, and keep up the 
defenses of the country. 

The land was divided into folkland, or " land held by common 
right without written evidence of ownership," and " bookland," or 
land over which the owner had full power or disposition by will, 
and his right to which rested on some ' book ' or written document, 
not on folk right and immemorial custom." The natural tendency 
was to change folkland into bookland, and for the freemen to give 



4 8 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



up their land to some powerful landholder by the owners "com- 
mending" themselves to his protection and then receiving the 
land back again on condition of rendering feudal service. 

Besides folkland and bookland there was loanland. This was 
land lent, not given, and the man to whom it was lent paid 
rent for it, or rendered some specified service. The time of the 
loan was fixed by agreement, and often was for the period of the 
borrower's life and that of two others. This method was the fore- 
runner of the more modern lease. 

The rarl\ English people were divided into the eorls or nobles 
and ceorls or freemen, and besides these there were slaves. Later 
these classes became subdivided, and the distinction lay in rank 
rather than blood. There was the athling, or member of the royal 
family ; eorl 1 or eoldorman, or ruler of one or more shires ; thegn, 
originally the personal follower of the king, then also of an eorl or 
any powerful man. 

Thegns might or might not possess lands of their own. and they 
often received gifts of land from their lord. It is easy to see that 
these thegns would naturally have great opportunities for advance- 
ment. Below these grades of society were the smaller owners of 
property, the freemen who had no property, and last of all the 
theows, or slaves. The tendency had been for the nobles to 
become more and more powerful, and for the lower and poorer 
classes to become less and less independent, owing to the neces- 
sity which they felt of having protection. In fact, if a man did 
not own land he was compelled to have a noble to answer for him 
in the courts. Men in extreme poverty would sell themselves for 
the sake of obtaining food and clothing, or to satisfy urgent cred- 
itors. Women held a high place, superior to that among the 
Normans. In England women, others than those of high rank, 
could be landowners, could make wills, and when becoming 
widows had a right to a share of their husband's property ; and 
they had much influence in society. 

1 Afterward known as earl. 



ENGLAND AT THE TIME OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST 49 

38. Government; Kings; Witenagemote. — The central power 
was vested in a king, whose power had been steadily growing. 
The king was usually chosen from the royal family, and if of suit- 
able age, the eldest son of the late king was elected. The choice 
waS made by the great eoldormen and ecclesiastics of the country 
acting together in a council known as the Witenagemote. 

The word Witenagemote means literally the council of the Wise 
Men. It was composed of the eorls, archbishops, bishops, chief 
abbots, and sometimes subject princes, and later the athlings, and 




Anglo-Saxon Plow Team 
After a manuscript of the eleventh century 

thegns of the kings. It answered in many respects to the modern 
Parliament, though it was not a representative body. It ratified 
the king's grant of lands, approved laws, civil as well as ecclesiasti- 
cal ; levied taxes ; granted land ; and was the court of final appeal. 
It elected and could depose a monarch. Its power varied with 
the character of' the king. Under a weak monarch its power was 
often great ; under a strong one but little. The great weakness 
both of the Witenagemote and the kings lay in the inability to 
enforce laws. 

39. Shires ; Hundreds ; Townships. — The country was divided 
into shires or counties. In the south these were generally the 
ancient petty kingdoms, as Kent, Sussex, Surrey, while in the north 
the names sometimes followed the name of the people, as Norfolk 
(north folk) and Suffolk (south folk) ; others took their name 
from the chief town, as Yorkshire, and Lincolnshire ; while others 
had other origins. At first an eorl was placed over each shire; 



5Q 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



but later an eorl often governed several. In the later Saxon times 
there was in addition another officer appointed by the king, called 
shirereeve. 1 His duty was to represent the king. He collected 
taxes and in general was the executive officer. 

The shires were subdivided into hundreds, called in the north- 
ern counties wapentakes, and each hundred was divided into 
townships. 

40. Justice. — Each shire and hundred had its mote or court ; 
that of the shire was held generally twice a year, and that of the 
hundred monthly. The laws were usually simple and based on 
custom. Almost every offense could be atoned for by a money 
payment, part of which went to the injured man or his family, 
and part to the king. A person charged before the mote with 
crime could defend himself in two ways: either by compurgation, 
that is by bringing before the court a satisfactory number of 
persons called compurgators, who would take an oath that the 
oath taken by the accused was true. If the accused could not 
produce these, he was allowed to appeal to the ordeal. This was 
to tread on red hot plowshares, or handle red hot iron, or thrust 
his hand into boiling water, and if he could show, after a fixed 
number of days, that he had received no injury, then he was con- 
sidered to be guiltless. 2 

41. The Church ; Monasteries. — In the first half of the eleventh 
century there was an absence of zeal in the church and in the mon- 
asteries. The connection with Rome was formal rather than real. 
One great reason for the lack of religious life was the fact that the 
archbishops, bishops, and abbots took far more interest in political 
affairs than in religious matters. They sat in the Witenagemote, 

1 Hence our word sheriff. 

2 Other forms of ordeal were used, among them that of water. The culprit was 
thrown into a pond or river; if he sank, he was considered innocent ; if he floated, 
he was guilty. He was at once pulled out and either set free or received the punish- 
ment set for his crime. The idea in the ordeal was that God would indicate the 
innocent. The probability is that it was thought that an innocent or honest man 
could get compurgators, and therefore the ordeal was not an unfair method — that 
it was, indeed, giving a man another chance. 



ENGLAND AT THE TIME OF THE NORMAN CONQUEST 5 I 

as has been seen, and shared in the duties of the shire and hun- 
dred motes or courts. 

Monks played an important part in the development of Anglo- 
Saxon civilization. They owned a large share of the land, and 
possessed numerous buildings and churches. It is hard to over- 
estimate the value of their influence in the seventh, eighth, and 
ninth centuries. During the Danish supremacy monasticism suf- 
fered a temporary downfall. Revived largely through the efforts 
of Dunstan (§ 27), monasticism again became a great power, but 
by the eleventh century the discipline of the monasteries had be- 
come relaxed, and the monk had ceased to be a pattern of in- 
dustry and active life. At one time the monastery was the abode 
of literature, art, the sciences, and of almost all knowledge ; the 
monks were the farmers and mechanics as well as the architects 
and artists of their age. But this was changed, and kings and 
nobles came to treat monasteries, especially in the south of Eng- 
land, rather as places in which their younger sons and daughters 
could live comfortable lives. 

42. Language and Literature. — By the time of the Norman 
Conquest the language had become simpler. It had lost many of 
its old forms and endings, and dropped much of its syntax in 
consequence. In literature there was a decided decline from 
Alfred's days. The chroniclers, however, had continued their 
work. 

References. — Traill, Social England, vol. i, chap, ii ; Cheyney, Indus- 
trial and Social History, chap, i, §§ 4-5 ; Gardiner, Student's History, chap, 
v; Tout, Advanced History, chap, ix; Cheyney, Readings, chap, v, § 3 ; 
Colby, Selections, § 13 ; Kendall, Source-Book, § 14 ; Lee, Source-Book, chap, 
v, chap.vi, §§ 41-43. 



5 2 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



Norman and Angevin Kings to Edward I 

William I "Conqueror" 

1066-1087 

= Matilda of Flanders 



Robert 
D. of Normandy 

William Clito 



William II " Rufus' 
1087-mo 



I 
Henry I 

1 100-1135 

Matilda of 
Scotland 



Adela 

= Stephen, Count 

of Blois 

Stephen 

1135-1154 



I 
William 

Lost in " White Ship" 

1120 



Matilda 

= (1) Emperor Henry V 

(2) Geoffrey, Count of Anjou 







1 1 1 \ K V II 










II54-II89 

1 






1 

Henry 


1 

Richard i 


1 

Geottr<-v 


1 1 

|(UIN Three 


1 
Matilda 


d. 1173 


" Lion 1 [earl " 


= Const. nice 


1199-1216 dau. 


= Henry the 




1 189-1 199 


of Brittany 
Arthur 


= (1) Isabella of 

Gloucester 

(2) Isabella of 


Lion L 



murdered ? 



(2) 



(2) 



(2) 



Angouleme 
(2) 



(2) 



Henry hi 
1216-1272 

: Eleanor of Provence 
I 



Richard Eleanor Isabella 

Earl of = Simon de = Frederic II 
Cornwall Montfort Emperor 



I 

Joanna 

= Alexander II 
of Scotland 



Edward I 
1 272- 1307 



Edmund 
Earl of Lancester 



1 Ancestor of the Dukes of Brunswick and Electors of Hanover. 



CHAPTER VI 

NORMAN AND ANGEVIN KINGS ; WILLIAM I — HENRY II 

1066-1189 

43. Norman Conquest. 1066-107 1. — It was fully five years be- 
fore William could in truth call himself master of England. The 
struggle of these five years gave him the name of William the 
Conqueror. In 1067 William ventured to visit Normandy; but 
the two regents whom he left in England were so severe and un- 
just that there were rebellions in various parts of the island. Late 
in 1067 William returned to England and set himself vigorously 
to put down the rebels. This task would have been much 
more difficult, perhaps impossible, had the English been united in 
their efforts at resistance ; as it was, William was able to attack 
and subdue his enemies one by one. In 1069 the northern 
English rose, called the king of Denmark to their aid, and were 
joined by some dissatisfied English nobles. Before this rebellion 
was suppressed much of the north country had been laid waste, 
and crops and cattle, farm buildings and tools, were destroyed to 
so great an extent that half a century later the still uncultivated 
fields bore witness to William's pitiless fury. Not even the old 
heathen Danish savages were as ruthless as William. 

The only important uprising which took place after this was the 
revolt of the Saxon hero, Hereward the Wake. He retreated to 
the high ground, known as the Isle of Ely, rising in the midst of 
the almost impenetrable swamps of the fen land in eastern England. 
For a long time he defied attack, but at last he was forced to 
yield, and then all England acknowledged William as lord (1072). 1 

1 There are two legends concerning Hereward : one followed by Kingsley in his 
" Hereward the Wake," in which the hero is killed by a band of Normans; the 
other, in which he makes submission and thereafter lives a peaceable, quiet life. 
The latter seems more likely to be the true version of the story. 

53 



54 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



William meant to be ruler of England in fact as well as in name. 
In accomplishing this end his difficulties were not simply with the 
English; he had to reward his Norman and other followers, yet 
he was determined to do nothing which would injure his control 

of the kingdom. The 
way in which he met 
these difficulties would 
of itself mark him as 
one of the ablest men 
of his time. 

William treated all 
who had resisted him 
as rebels ; he confis- 
cated their lands and 
gave these estates to 
his followers, but he so 
distributed the land 
among his supporters 
that it would be to the 
interest of each to 
notify him of any at- 
]>\kv ui mi Towi b of London tempt at revolt by the 

The "Great White Tower "built by William the English; for a revolt 
Conqueror ., . . 

would mean the loss 
of land by the owner. Besides this, William kept a standing army 
ready to be called upon to put down any uprising by the English. 
To make his position still stronger, he built in every town of 
importance a castle in which were stationed Norman soldiers. A 
number of these castles are still standing in whole or in part. The 
most famous of all is the " White Tower " which forms part of the 
Tower of London. 

44. William and the Nobles. — One of the great difficulties 
with which English kings had to contend was the English baron- 
age, for the powerful nobles rarely hesitated to rebel if they 




DOMINIONS OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR 55 



4 Longitude West 2 from Greenwich Longitude East 2 







56 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

thought their private interests would be benefited. The same 
thing was true of the Normans, as William had already found to 
his cost in Normandy. To remedy this state of affairs, he did 
away with all the great earldoms, and so distributed throughout 
the country the grants of land made to the barons and great 
nobles that if one of them should rebel, he could be put down 
before he could bring his scattered retainers together. William, 
moreover, made it clear to the English that if they were faithful 
to him, he would treat them justly. 

45. William and the Church. — William found the English 
church a national one ; that is, the bishops were appointed by 
the king in conjunction with the Witenagemote ; and the clergy sat 
in the Witenagemote with the nobles. He took into his own hands 
the appointment of the bishops and abbots ; he removed all the 
bishops who were Englishmen and appointed Normans in their 
place ; he made the clergy independent of the civil courts, and 
punishments were inflicted by order of the ecclesiastical courts. 

William's scheme added greatly to his power, for each of the 
three parties in the kingdom — the English people, the Norman 
people, and the church — was dependent upon him, and each 
distrusted the other. It was very unlikely that any two would 
unite against him. He made Lanfranc, an Italian, Archbishop 
of Canterbury. This was an excellent selection, for he was one 
of the most able, learned, and religious men of his day. 

46. William and Feudalism. — In England feudalism prevailed 
but neither so extensively, nor in a form so fully developed, as 
on the continent. (App. 1, §§ 34-36.) According to feudalism, 
in its perfected theory, all the land of a country belonged to the 
king, and the followers of the king were called his vassals and 
held their estates as the king's tenants. Their land was called a 
fief, and the oath they took was the oath of fealty to the king or 
overlord. In return for the gift of land the vassal was bound to 
render his king or lord certain personal or other service, 1 such as 

1 The amount and character of the service varied greatly. 



REIGN OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR 57 

to furnish and equip men to fight for him, in return for which his 
king or lord was bound to protect him and his property. He who 
held land direct from the king or ruler could grant it to vassals of 
his own, and so on ; thus feudalism became in time an exceedingly 
complicated institution. Each vassal's first duty was to his im- 
mediate overlord ; thus if his lord should rebel against the king, the 
vassal was bound to follow his lord rather than the king. The 
essence of feudalism was this dependence upon the overlord. 
William endeavored to change this in England, so that the 
vassal's first duty should be to the king and not to his overlord. 
Then if a noble rebelled and his men followed him, they were 
guilty of treason. In this way the people would be more closely 
bound to the king. It is likely that this change was gradually 
brought about, though from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle} it would 
seem that it was exacted for all the country at a great meeting 
held at Salisbury (1086), and hence called "The Oath of Salis- 
bury." As a result of this policy England was saved in after 
years from many evils which the unmodified feudalism brought 
upon continental Europe. 

47. Domesday Book. 1085-1086. — The methods of raising 
funds to meet the expenses of government were unsatisfactory, and 
much property escaped taxation. In order to remedy this defect, 
and to increase the revenue, William caused an extensive survey to 
be made of the taxable property of the kingdom (1085). The 
reports were set down in a book which was called the Domesday 
Book, because there was no more appeal from it than there would 
be from the Last Judgment. This book has been preserved, and 
is one of the most interesting historical records in existence. How 
full it was can be inferred from the following extract from the 
Chronicle : " So very narrow did he cause the survey to be made, 

1 The passage in the Chronicle reads : " He came to Salisbury at Lammas and 
his witan, and all the landholders of substance in England, whose vassals soever 
they were, repaired to him there, and they all submitted to him, and became his 
men, and swore oaths of allegiance, that they would be faithful to him against all 
others." A.D. 1086. 



5» 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



that there was not a single hide nor a rood of land, nor — it is 
shameful to relate that which he thought no shame to do — was 
there an ox, or a cow, or a pig, passed by, that was not set down 
in the accounts." That he was able to make such a survey is 
strong testimony to William's power, for there are few things which 
men resent more than an investigation into their private affairs. 

p xh el cvrfipbio/ limit, alitf cftieii ilimh/ f aititii 
fVoa ade1n-.vv.l1l7 V: Jevai/ mellif. tomxa'v AXyxro 
&uo.a$fU1teto woluio ijt#in(Vciitun^haWvi* / 
ft/tunta re* ttot'm up? dtiwne : Wnvcnf<r|/w. ttof/ 
dieo^y c\n^\ aUifiici.w- lit folia/ refute' ©mfeefttfu 

Beginning 01 chj Domesday Book fob oxford 

William was passionately fond of hunting, and it was said of him 
•' that he loved the tall stags as though he was their father." Per- 
haps the most unpopular thing which he did was to make a large 
royal hunting preserve in Hampshire called the New Forest. It 
is altogether probable that much of the land was "crown land," 
so that comparatively few people were deprived of their property ; 
moreover, the soil is poor and it was sparsely inhabited ; but the 
taking of any private property for selfish ends has always been 
distasteful to the Anglo-Saxon mind. The severe forest laws which 
he made for the preservation of game for his hunting were really 
a far more reasonable cause of discontent than the seizure of the 
land. 

48. Death of William. 1087. — In 1087 William became in- 
volved in a quarrel with the king of France. As he rode through 
the town of Mantes, in Normandy, which had been burned by his 
own orders, his horse stepped on some burning embers, started, 
and threw William against the pommel of his saddle. As he had 
grown to be very stout he was seriously injured. In a few days 
he died, and was buried in Caen in Normandy. 



REIGN OF WILLIAM RUFUS 59 

William left Normandy, his hereditary possession, to his eldest 
son Robert ; to his second son, William, he left England ; and to 
his third son, Henry, he left 5000 pounds sterling and some private 
estates, telling him to bide his time. 1 

49. William II, Rufus. 1087. — William, the son, hastened to 
England, secured the powerful influence of Lanfranc, Archbishop 
of Canterbury, and was chosen king by the Witenagemote. Many 
of the barons would have preferred the easy-going Robert to the 
vigorous William, and in the. very first year of his reign a con- 
spiracy was formed against him. William called on the English 
people to aid him, promising them certain privileges if they did so. 
They responded to the call in such numbers that the rebellion was 
quelled. 

50. William Rufus and the Church ; Anselm. 1093. — William 
Rufus, as he was called from his red face, was an exceedingly able 
man, but he had all the evil qualities of his father without his 
father's power of self-control. He was, moreover, an intensely 
selfish man, and no oath was too sacred for him to break if it 
suited his pleasure. He quarreled with the church, and after the 
death of Lanfranc, for whom he had some respect, he allowed the 
great see of Canterbury to continue vacant for nearly four years, 
in order that he might appropriate its revenues to his own uses. 
In 1093 William was seized with a serious illness and in his fright 
he agreed to appoint an Archbishop of Canterbury. He named 
Anselm, the prior of Bee in Normandy, a man so pure and holy 
in his living that he was already called a saint. Anselm was 
dragged to the king's bedside and the symbols of his office were 
forced into his unwilling hands. The most learned man of his 
day, " he was as righteous as he was learned, and as gentle as he 
was righteous," but like many other quiet and mild men he knew 
no fear where questions of duty were concerned, nor did he hesi- 

1 This arrangement was in accord with the custom of the times, which was, that 
hereditary possessions should go to the eldest son, and the acquired ones to the 
younger sons; at the same time it was unusual for a younger son to be given the 
most valuable possession. 



60 HISTORY OF 1 NGLAND 

tate to warn the king against his sins. After four years of contest 
with the king, Anselra retired to Rome, but his example had borne 
fruit by encouraging in others a spirit of independence which 
showed itself later. 

51. Death of William Rufus. Henry I. noo. — The end of 
William Rufus was tragic. He was hunting in the New Forest 
when he was shot by an arrow which pierced him to the heart. 
Whether this was an accident or not has never been found out. 
William left no direct heirs; his elder brother Robert was on a 
crusade (App. i, § 59) to the Holy Land; and so the way was 
open for the youngest brother, Henry, to make good his claim. 
Henry lost no time in seizing the royal treasure and in getting 
himself elected by an assembly of the nobles and prelates. In 
order to gain the good will of the English people, he married 
Eadgyth, afterward known as Matilda, the daughter of Malcolm, 
king of Scotland, and of Margaret, granddaughter of Edmund 
Ironside. This, together with the fact that he had been born 
in England, made him far more acceptable to the English than 
Robert. Still further to strengthen his position, he recalled 
Anselm from Rome, and granted a charter to the barons. This 
charter is one of the most important in early English history, for 
it was made the basis of many subsequent charters ; it was the 
first which considered the grievances of the nobles and the clergy, 
and was the first which was granted at the time of the coronation 
of a sovereign of England. 

In this charter Henry promised reforms and a return to the 
laws of Edward the Confessor, as amended by his father, William 
the Conqueror. He gave up the forests formed by William Rufus, 
but retained those of his father. Henry did not adhere at all 
tiroes to the terms of this charter, but he did not recklessly 
violate it. 

52. Henry and Robert. 1106. — The difficulties which Henry 
had to face were similar to those which had beset his father and 
brother ; there was constant conflict with his rebellious barons, with 



REIGN OF HENRY I 6 1 

the French king, and with the church. When Henry's brother 
Robert returned from the crusade and found that for the second 
time he had failed to gain the English crown, he joined with some 
of the English nobles in trying to dethrone his brother. But the 
attempt was unsuccessful. The war was then carried into Nor- 
mandy, and in 1106 at Tenchbrai, with an army largely composed 
of English troops, Henry defeated his brother and his allies. 
Robert was taken prisoner, conveyed to Great Britain, and kept 
in close confinement in Cardiff Castle, South Wales, until his 
death, a period of twenty-eight years. As a result of the victory, 
all Normandy fell into Henry's hands. 

53. Henry and the Church ; Anselm. — Except where he thought 
his duty to the church interfered, Anselm loyally supported Henry; 
but it was almost impossible that some conflicts should not arise, 
for in those days a great prelate was not only an officer of the 
church, but usually a great landholder as well. (App. 1, § 46.) 
Under the feudal laws, if called upon, he was bound under certain 
well-defined circumstances to supply knights for the king's army. 
He was also required to do the same homage for his lands that 
was exacted of a baron. When Henry asked Anselm to repeat 
the homage he had rendered to William Rufus, Anselm declined 
to do so ; and not only that, but he refused to consecrate the 
bishops whom Henry had appointed. His position was that of 
Gregory VII, one recently supported by a church council, which 
held that the church should be entirely independent of the state, 
and should appoint its own dignitaries. Neither Henry nor Anselm 
would yield, and Anselm left England for about three years. Then 
an honorable compromise reasonably satisfactory to both parties 
was reached (1106). (App. 1, § 54.) 

54. Henry and France ; " The White Ship." n 20. — Henry's 
difficulties with the French king were connected with Normandy. 
Robert, Duke of Normandy, was in safe confinement, but his son, 
William Clito, claimed the duchy, and was supported by the king 
of France, who naturally preferred to have for his vassal and neigh- 



62 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

bor a young man rather than the powerful king of England. For 
nearly twenty years there was almost constant warfare with France. 
At length Robert's son was killed in battle (1128), and then there 
was peace for Henry. 

When Henry was returning from one of his visits to Normandy 
( 1 1 20), his only son, a youth of seventeen, with a crowd of nobles 
followed him in another vessel, The White Ship. They set sail 
from the town of Barfleur in the evening after a time of revelling. 
Probably there was net a sober seaman on board, ami it is not 
surprising that the vessel struck on the rocks at the entrance of 
the harbor. Prince William was thrust into a boat and might 
have been saved had he not insisted on returning for his half sister. 
As his boat neared the rapidly sinking ship, it was swamped by 
crowds of men and passengers jumping into it, and Prince William 
and the rest were drowned. A butcher of Rouen who clung to 
the mast of the vessel was the sole survivor of all that gay com- 
pany. At first, no one dared to carry the dreadful tidings to the 
kinu r ; then a little boy, falling down before him, told him the 
terrible news. Henry fell senseless, and, it is said, never smiled 
again. 

55. Matilda and the Succession. — Henry determined to make 
his daughter his heir; and though no woman had as yet sat on 
the English throne, he succeeded in getting the barons to swear 
allegiance to Matilda as his successor. She had been the wife of 
Henry V, the Emperor of Germany, but had recently returned to 
England, a widow. Henry married her to Geoffrey, the son of 
the Count of Anjou, whose lands were south of Normandy. These 
added to the duchy of Normandy would greatly increase the con- 
tinental possessions of the English king. Unfortunately, the match 
was highly unpopular with Henry's subjects, both English and Nor- 
man : with the former, because they disliked any foreign compli- 
cations ; and with the latter, because the Counts of Anjou had 
always been foes of the Normans. However, in n 33 the barons 
again swore fealty to Matilda and also to her infant son. 



REIGN OF STEPHEN 63 

56. Death of Henry. 1 135. — In 1135 Henry died, after an 
active and successful reign of thirty-five years. He was a great 
king. Though naturally selfish, like the rest of his family, circum- 
stances made many of his interests and those of the people 
coincide. England was suffering from the selfishness and turbu- 
lence of the large barons ; they were also Henry's enemies, and so 
he did all in his power to keep them in check. He introduced a 
well-ordered administration of finance and justice, and the internal 
reforms which he brought about were favorable to a rapid increase 
in trade and commerce. He was a peace-loving king, with keen 
aptitude for organization and order. A scholar himself and famil- 
iar with French, English, and Latin, he was a patron of learning 
and encouraged the presence of famous scholars at his court. 
During his reign the monasteries became centers of education, 
and the monks busied themselves with chronicles. These were 
written in Latin, and are of the greatest value to modern students 
of history. 

57. Stephen of Blois. 1135. — Though the barons had sworn 
that they would recognize Henry's daughter, Matilda, as queen, 
they broke all their promises and chose for their king, Stephen, 
Count of Blois, son of Adela, a daughter of William the Con- 
queror. Stephen did not seem like a foreigner, for he had been 
brought up at the English court and was well known to the Eng- 
lish and was popular. He was a genial, pleasant man, handsome 
and generous. He had been a favorite with his uncle Henry, who 
had given him such large possessions as to make him one of the 
most powerful barons in England. His cause was especially sup- 
ported by the Londoners, who desired peace above all things, and 
who thought that a woman would not be likely to govern well and 
to continue Henry's policy. Matilda, moreover, had spent only 
two years in England since she was eight years old. Her husband, 
Geoffrey, was an hereditary foe of the Normans. " We will not 
have a foreigner to reign over us," they said. 

To make his tenure more secure, Stephen issued two charters 



64 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

promising to maintain peace and justice, the freedom of the 
church, and other liberties. He also agreed to give up the 
forests which Henry had made. Stephen seems to have had 
neither the desire nor the ability to keep his promises. He was 
not a timid man, but he lacked both judgment and prudence. 
He had no control over the barons and he made enemies of the 
clergy. 

58. The Barons and Stephen. — The barons soon erected castles 
all over the kingdom and defied the king. It was said of them : 
" They fought among themselves with deadly hatred ; they spoiled 
the fairest lands with fire and rapine ; in what had been the most 
fertile of counties they had destroyed almost all the provision of 
bread. . . . They hanged up men by the feet and smoked them 
with foul smoke ; some were hanged by their thumbs, others by 
their heads, and burning things were hung to their feet. They 
knotted strings about men's heads and twisted them till they went 
to the brain. They put men into prisons where adders and snakes 
and toads were crawling; and so they tormented them." These 
were only part of the cruelties which were perpetrated by the 
barons upon their enemies and upon those whose possessions they 
wished to seize. Stephen himself, on one occasion, it is related, 
having taken prisoner a son of the lady who held the castle he 
was besieging, put a rope around the neck of his prisoner, and 
threatened to hang him in sight of his mother unless the castle 
was surrended. The unhappy mother could not bear the sight, 
ami opened the gates to the king. 

59. Stephen and Matilda; Civil War. 1140. — Stephen came 
to the throne in 1135 ; by 1140 the kingdom was in a state of 
anarchy. Matilda thought it was a good opportunity to press her 
claim. She found supporters, but they were more interested in 
fighting Stephen than they were in her or in her success. Stephen, 
instead of appealing to the people for support, hired soldiers from 
the Continent to help him, an action which turned many from 
him. In a battle fought at Lincoln (1141) Stephen was taken 



REIGN OF STEPHEN 



65 



prisoner and all England submitted to Matilda, who was called by 
the barons the " Lady of England." 1 Matilda was harsh, and 
soon London, with many of the great barons, turned against her. 
Stephen had been set 
at liberty in exchange 
for Matilda's half 
brother who was held 
captive by Stephen's 
followers ; civil war 
began and the land 
was in desperate 
straits. Bad as 
Stephen's rule had 
been, it was certainly 
better than Matilda's, 
so the cause of 
Stephen kept gain- 
ing, and in 1148 
Matilda gave up the 
struggle and left Eng- 
land, and Stephen 
was again king. Two 
or three years later 
Matilda's son, Henry, 
a youth of sixteen, 

was sent to England to see what success he could attain. He 
had, however, to abandon the attempt to gain the crown. 

60. Treaty of Wallingford ; Death of Stephen. 1154. — In 
1 150 Geoffrey of Anjou, the husband of Matilda, died, and Henry 
succeeded to the large possessions of the Counts of Anjou. To 
these he added Aquitaine by marriage (1152) with Eleanor, the 
divorced wife of Louis VII of France. He now felt himself strong 
enough to make another attempt to secure the English crown. 

1 Matilda was not crowned. 




Ruins of Richmond Castle. 

This was built in the time of the Normans 



66 HIS TORY OF ENGLAND 

Though only nineteen, Henry was more than the equal of Stephen, 
and was so successful that Stephen was compelled to treat for 
peace. By the Treaty of Wallingford (1153) it was agreed that 
Stephen should retain the crown until his death, but that Henry 
should be his heir. It was easier for Stephen to agree to this be- 
cause his sun Eustace, whom he had expected to succeed him, 
had lately died. It was also agreed that the castles which had 
been built during the reign of Stephen should be demolished. 1 
After a few months Henry returned to his continental possessions. 
The next year (1154) Stephen died, and Henry succeeded to the 
English (Town without opposition, the first peaceful succession 
since 1066. 

61. Henry II, Plantagenet. 1154- — Henry of Anjou, known 
in England as Henry II, was the fir^t of the Angevin family to rule 
in England. He is also known as Plantagenet. 1 

In person he was a little above the middle height, stout, and 
with a thick neck. He had around head and wore his hair closely 
cropped. He was a restless, active man, rarely sitting down ex- 
cept at meals or when he was on horseback. He was careless in 
his dress; his manner was usually pleasant and affable, but when 
he was crossed, he was rough and passionate ; and it was said of 
him that he would sometimes roll on the ground in a rage and 
even bite at the straws and sticks near him. On the other hand, 
he was generally wise and far-seeing in his statesmanship, ener- 
getic and painstaking in carrying out his plans, and at the same 
time crafty and tenacious. He was perhaps the most learned 
monarch of his time and delighted in the society of scholars. 
Like his Norman ancestors, he was devoted to the chase and 
excelled in war. He had little regard for religion or for the 
church. 

Though only twenty-one at the time of his succession, he was 

1 It is said that there were 1115 of these. 

-Angevin, that is "of Anjou." The name Plantagenet is derived from plan/a 
genista ; in French, plantegenet, the broom plant, a sprig of which Geoffrey, 
Henry's father, was accustomed to wear in his helmet. 



DOMINIONS OF THE PLANTAGENETS 



67 



10 8 6 Longitude 4 WeBt from 2 Greenwich Longitude 2 East from 4 Greenwich 6 



1 r 

DOMINIONS OF THE 

HOUSE OF ANJOU 

Scale of English Miles 



25 50 100 150 




68 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

wiser and abler than most men of twice his age. He was one of 
the most powerful monarchs of Europe, for besides England, his 
possessions in France were greater than those of the king of 
France himself. By inheritance or through marriage (§ 60) he 
ruled Normandy, Anjou, Maine. Touraine, Aquitaine, Poitou. 1 
cony, and several smaller states. So important were his conti- 
nental interests that of his lung reign of thirty-five years, only 
thirteen were spent in Britain, and his longest continuous stay 
there wis two and one half years. But this did not prevent 
him from understanding the condition of his English kingdom 
and ruling it wisely. He was skillful in the choice of his ministers, 
and was always ready to listen to advi( c. 

62. Thomas Becket. — In his efforts to reform the condition 
of affairs, Henry v tly helped by Thomas Becket, after- 

wards Archbishop of Canterbury, the son of Gilbert Becket, a 
Norman merchant who had settled in London. Shortly after 
Henry's accession Thomas Becket was made chancellor 1 of the 
kingdom. Thomas of London, as he was then known, for the 
practice of having surnames had not been adopted, was fond of 
display and lived in great style ; but in a licentious age and amid 
great temptations he appears to have kept himself free from every 
kind of vice. He and the king became close friends and jested 
with each other like boon companions. It is said that they were 
riding together one cold winter's day when they met an ill-clad 
beggar. "Would it not be a charity," said the king, " to give that 
fellow a cloak and cover him from the cold ?" " Yes," said Becket. 
W hereupon the king snatched Becket's fine scarlet cloak edged 
with fur. Becket resisted, and in the struggle the two men were 
nearly thrown from their horses, but in the end Henry got the 
cloak and flung it to the beggar. Such were the familiar terms 
upon which these two men lived. 

1 The chancellor was ihe secretary of the King's Court, or Curia Regis. He 
issued writs and other public documents; kept the great seal of the kingdom; 
acted .is judge; and held the right of appointment to many ecclesiastical benefices. 



REFORMS OF HENRY II 



6 9 



63. Henry's Reforms. — Henry's reforms were as thorough as 
it was possible to make them. He not only followed the plans 
of his grandfather, Henry I, but carried them still farther. He 
sent all foreign troops out of the kingdom ; he ordered that the 
castles which had been built during Stephen's reign should be 
destroyed, and if, in any instance, his command was not obeyed, 
he sent troops against that stronghold and destroyed it. He saw 
clearly that his most dangerous enemies in England were the 
great barons, and to weaken these he hit upon a plan which 
strengthened his power on the Continent as well as in England. 
Henry needed an army to protect his continental possessions j his 
English subjects were not bound by feudal laws to fight except 
at home, and though feudal vassals were liable to foreign service, 
they could not be forced to serve more than forty days in any 
one year. This was far too short a time to suit Henry. He 
therefore encouraged a practice which had been gradually grow- 
ing up. This was to make a money payment to the king in lieu 
of personal service. With this money the king was able to hire 
troops for as long a service as he might choose, and thus the 
English knights could stay at home. A further result of this prac- 
tice, and a very important one, was that the knights, who in earlier 
times were warriors, now became landowners, who devoted much 
of their time to peaceful pursuits and thereby became vitally in- 
terested in local affairs. This custom also marked a step in the 
decline of feudalism, the essence of which was personal service in 
return for personal benefits. 

The fact that Henry's long absences from England did not 
seriously weaken his authority was due to the skill with which he 
chose his representatives. He intrusted two laymen, Richard de 
Lucy and Robert of Leicester, with almost kingly power. These 
men, called Justiciars, 1 with Becket, carried out the king's policy 

1 The name justiciar had different meanings at different periods. In Henry's 
time the justiciars acted as " permanent prime ministers, as representatives of the 
monarch in all relations of state, as regents during the king's absence," etc. 



7° 



1I1M< IRY I >F ENGLAND 



so well that for ten years England had such a rest from turmoil as 
she had not known for many years. 

64. Henry and the Church. — When Henry came to the throne 
the two foes of reform were the barons and the church; neither 
of them wished to be restrained, or t<> give up any of the power 
acquired during the reign of Stephen. Henry had reduced the 
barons to submission, but he had little opportunity to take from 
the church those powers gained in earlier times, or not rightly 
belonging to it. 

Under the general system at that tune if a member of the 
< lergy committed a crime, he was to he tried in an ecclesiastical 
court. Tin- system was open to great abuse, for it permitted 
|nTMMb to become members of the clergy simply to secure clerical 
privileges, or to escape the secular or ordinary laws. For instant <■, 
the e< i lesiastical i nirts < ould not inflict the penalty of death, and 
so if one of the clergj or " clerks," as they were called, committed 
a murder, he escaped death. Moreover, the church courts were 
more lenient, it was claimed, than others, and criminals got off 
with lighter penalties. Henry believed that there should he one 
law for all his subjects, but so long as Archbishop Theobald lived, 
there seemed to he no opportunity to bring this about 

65. Henry and Archbishop Becket. iid: 1164. — Theobald 
died in 1 162, and Henry at once determined to appoint as arch- 
bishop his friend ami chancellor, Thomas Becket, expecting that 
through him he could carry out his plans. Becket did all in his 
power to prevent the king from making the nomination and from 
securing the appointment from the Pope. " I warn von," said 
Becket, " that if such a thing should be, our friendship would soon 
turn to bitter hate." But Henry insisted, and Thomas became 
Archbishop of Canterbury. 1 

from the moment he became archbishop, all his interests were 
centered in the church and all his strength was given to it. He 

1 Becket though a deacon was not a priest, but was forthwith ordained one, and 
tin: very next day consecrated archbishop. 



HENRY II AND BECKET 



71 



at once resigned the chancellorship, saying, " It is impossible for 
me to serve two masters," meaning the church and the king. 

It was not long before a conflict arose between the king and the 
archbishop. Henry was determined that any "clerk" (member 
of the clergy) who was guilty of a crime should be tried, and in 




Canterihry Cathedral 

The choir was built in the twelfth century, and the nave, transepts, and central 
tower date from the fifteenth century. Some of the glass is of the thirteenth 
century. 

some instances sentenced, in a " lay " court, that is, in an ordinary 
court of justice. Becket insisted that all " clerks " should be tried 
in a church court, maintaining that Henry's claim was an inroad 
upon the liberties of the church. 

66. Constitutions of Clarendon. 11 64. — Henry summoned a 
great council to meet at Clarendon near Salisbury, and at his 
command a committee of bishops and barons issued what are 
known as the Constitutions of Clarendon. These professed to set 
forth the customs of the king's grandfather, Henry I. No one 



7 2 



HISTORY <»j ENGLAND 



knew exactly what these were, but Becket and the bishops had 
agreed to observe them. When issued, they were found to be 
against the claims of the church. The most important of the six- 
teen articles provided in many cases that clerks and persons under 
the protection of the church should be tried in the lay courts ; 
that bishops who held laud as feudal tenants should do homage 
just as lay tenants were required to do; that no appeals should be 
made to the Pope without the king's leave; that no member of 
the royal household or "tenant in chief" (that is. a man who was 
the king's dire< t vassal) shoul 1 be excommunicated from the 
church without the king's knowledge, h i annot be said that these 
requirements were unreasonable ; for it was absolutely necessary, 
for the sake of common justice, t<> settle the questions continually 
arising between the lay and clerical courts, and to end, as far as 
possible, the frequent I rising from the conflict of 

authority. 

67. Becket"s Refusal and Flight to France. 1164. — Becket, 
strongly opposed to any lessening of the power of the church, took 
time for consideration and then managed to evade signing the 
articles. Henry, angered at Becket's conduct, resolved not to 
yield. Nine months passed; Henry then summoned becket to 
appear b< »yal council held at Northampton to answer 

certain < i rding his lands and his financial transaction-, as 

chancellor. 1 [ere Bei ket was found guilty of treason and declared 
to be a debtor to the crown for a very large amount. 1 

With his crucifix in his hand, he awaited the decision in the 
hall. When he was informed of it, he appealed to the judgment 
of the Pope in defiance of the constitutions, and walked out. As 
he went along, some one said, "This is a fearful day." "Yes," 
said Becket, "but the Day of Judgment will be more fearful." 
He fled in disguise to the coast and crossed over to France. 1 te 

1 It is hai d that tin - technically true, if 

indeed they wen- that. The fact was that Henry wished to get rid of Becket and 
took this means of doing so. 



HENRY II AND BECKET 



73 



remained in exile six years. Meanwhile Henry banished about 
four hundred of the archbishop's relatives and friends and con- 
fiscated the revenues of Becket's see. 

68. Becket in France ; Coronation of Prince Henry. 1 1 70. — 
Becket did not find the support in France and from the Pope that 
he looked for. There were two rival Popes, and Alexander III 
who had the best claim, was too much afraid that Henry would 
recognize his rival to give active support to Becket; and the king 
of France, though he received Becket and showed him honor, did 
little more. Henry was now free to carry out his own plans, and 
from this time the Constitutions of Clarendon regulated the rela- 
tions of church and state, and law gradually took the place of 
despotism. 

Henry was anxious to have his eldest son follow him on the 
throne. But since the time of the Norman Conquest no eldest son 
of an English king had succeeded his father. Henry determined 
to have his eldest son crowned during his father's lifetime. 1 
Accordingly, in n 70 Prince Henry was crowned by Roger, Arch- 
bishop of York. It was then, and still is, the special privilege of 
the Archbishop of Canterbury, as Primate of all England, to crown 
the monarchs of England. As soon, therefore, as Becket heard 
what was to be done, he sent word to Roger that all bishops about 
to take part in the coronation of the young Prince were excom- 
municated, and warned him that this order was approved by the 
Pope. The coronation took place, but Becket's action threw 
doubt on its validity. To meet this difficulty Henry resolved to 
make peace with Becket. Henry also feared lest the Pope should 
excommunicate him or lay an interdict 2 on the kingdom. At 
length, through the agency of the Pope, Henry and Becket met at 
Fr£teval, not far from Tours, in France, and some sort of a recon- 
ciliation was reached. Becket returned to England. 

1 This was often done by continental monarchs. In medieval times coronation 
was held to be all-important, while in modern times it is considered a non-essential. 
- Interdict, see § 79, note. 



74 



HISTORY < H- ENGLAND 



69. Return and Murder of Becket. 1 1 70. — The archbishop 
landed at Sandwich (December 1, 11 70) and was received with 
shouts of welcome from the people, who looked on him as a pro- 
tector of their rights. He would not release from the ban of ex- 
communication the bishops who had taken part in the coronation 
of the Prince, unless the confiscated estates of Canterbury were 
restored to him. On this, the bishops resolved to appeal to Henry, 
who was on the continent. Henry was very angry and cried out 

impatiently, " What a parcel of fools 
and dastards have 1 nourished in 
my house that not one of them will 
avenge me of this one upstart 
( lerk ! " Four knights who heard 
him took him at his word and 
hastened to England and Canter- 
bury. At first they went unarmed 
to the archbishop's palace, and had 
hot words with him, demanding 
that he should leave the kingdom. 
But becket defied them. Then 
they went out for arms. In the 
meantime Becket's friends per- 
suaded him to take refuge in the 
cathedral. Here the knights found him and murdered him. 
Though Henry at once declared that he had no hand in the 
murder, and sent to the Pope assurance to that effect, this deed 
aroused deep indignation, not only in England, but throughout 
Europe. Thomas was looked upon as a martyr, was soon can- 
onized, and became the most popular saint in England. 1 

70. Henry and Ireland. 11 71. — Henry was the first English 
king to make an attempt to conquer Ireland. That island was then 

1 To canonize is for the Catholic church to place a deceased person upon the 
canon or list of saints. St. Thomas of Canterbury continued to be a popular saint 
down to the Protestant Reformation, when his shrine at Canterbury was destroyed. 

It was to this shrine that Chaucer, in his great poem, makes his pilgrims travel. 




Tin. Mi Kin k OP Til' '" B 

Alter a Canterbury seal of the four- 
teenth century 



REIGN OF HENRY II 



75 



celebrated for its work in metal, and for the skillful illumination 
of manuscripts, but in almost everything else it was far behind the 
rest of Europe. There were a number of tribes, each ruled by a 
chieftain, and petty warfare was almost continual. The church 
and monasteries were also very much disorganized. It was in the 
hope that Henry's efforts would place the Irish church under 
Roman authority that Adrian IV (Nicholas Breakspear), the only 
Englishman who ever became Pope, is said to have given Ireland 
to the English king (1154). 1 

Then, however, seemed to Henry a good time to make a serious 
effort to gain Ireland, and in 1 171 he crossed the Irish Channel 
with that end in view. There were already Englishmen in Ireland, 
for Richard de Clare, afterwards known as Strongbow, with -a 
number of followers, had gone to Ireland in 1169-1170 at the in- 
vitation of Dermot, an Irish chieftain, to assist him in regaining 
his possessions. They had been successful ; Strongbow had mar- 
ried Dermot's daughter, and at his death seized upon his kingdom. 
His rule, like that of many foreign aggressors, was harsh. Henry, 
therefore, was welcomed by many of the Irish, and yielded to by 
the earlier English invaders, who lacked the courage and the 
strength to resist him. Unfortunately for Ireland, Henry was 
soon forced to leave the island to look after more important in- 
terests, and with his departure the old condition of petty warfare 
was renewed. 

71. Henry and the Barons. — There had been in England, as 
on the Continent, a struggle between the barons and the crown. 
The tendency had been toward the increase of royal authority ; 
this the barons naturally resisted, and from time to time, as op- 
portunity offered, they rebelled. They had been most successful 
during the reign of Stephen, and the anarchy of that reign showed 
what might be expected if they should become the stronger party 

1 This grant, if made, for it has never been fully established as a historical fact, 
was made on the ground that all islands belong to the Pope. It may be taken as 
an example of the extensive claims of the Papacy at that time. 



j6 IIIST< >RY OF ENGLAND 

in the state. From the first Henry had done all that he could 
to lessen the strength of these barons and had accomplished 
much. The barons had chafed at their loss of power, and were 
determined to make a desperate effort to recover their lost posi- 
tion. The time was seemingly ripe tor such an attempt. As 
Henry was lord of more than half of France, the kings of France 
were always ready to take advantage of any movement which 
might injure their English rival ; so were the petty dukes and 
counts whose dominions were near by ; the Scots also were alive 
to any opportunity for enlarging their borders. Besides all these, 
Henry had foes in his own household. His wife, Eleanor, was on 
bad terms with him, and sympathized with her sons, who, despite 
their father's affection for them, were dissatisfied with what he had 
given them, and were ready to plot against him. All these 
enemies conspired at the same time against the unfortunate king. 

72. Henry's Reconciliation with the Church and his Penance. 
1174. — Henry knew that as long as he was on ill terms with the 
church, his affairs could not prosper; therefore he resolved to be 
reconciled to it. He met the papal legates, swore that he was 
innocent of the death of Be< ket, and agreed to make certain 
important concessions. I T j ■■ -n t eived absolution. 

Meanwhile, Henry had caused his eldest son, Henry, to be 
crowned again, and this time his son's wife, .Margaret, daughter of 
the king of France, had been also crowned. To this son, I lenrv had 
given Normandy ; for his son Geoffrey, he had secured Brittany ;* 
and to Richard, his third son, he had given Aquitaine. All these 
countries were to be ruled under Henry and not independently, 
lint this arrangement did not satisfy his sons ; and the French 
king, hoping to gain thereby, joined with them and plotted a rebel- 
lion, to which Eleanor, Henry's wife, gave her aid. The barons at- 
tacked Henry almost simultaneously in Normandy, on the Scottish 
border, and in England. He was successful against the rebels 

1 He had done this by the marriage of Geoffrey to Constance, heiress of the 
duchy. 



REIGN OF HENRY II 



77 



in Normandy, and his faithful justiciars, Richard de Lucy and 
William Mandeville, routed the barons in England. 

The contest was still going on with the Scots when Henry 
landed in England on his way to Canterbury to do penance at the 
tomb of Becket. When he reached the entrance of the city, " he 
dismounted, put on a 
plain, woolen gown, bared 
his royal feet, and so 
walked through the rough 
and muddy streets to the Wf^ 1 
cathedral. ... At the 
threshold, he knelt down 
and said a prayer ; on 
being led to the spot 
where Becket fell, he 
kissed it and bathed it 
with tears." The Bishop 
of London then spoke to 
the people on behalf of 
the kin'g, expressing sor- 
row that hasty words of 
his should have led the 
knights to commit so vile 
a deed. He also stated that the king confirmed the see of Can- 
terbury in all her rights. Henry then rose, satisfied with what 
had been said, and removing his outer garment, knelt down at 
the tomb to receive from the hands of the monks eighty or more 
stripes on his back. He was again absolved of the crime, but 
remained crouching on the bare floor of the crypt all night. 

73. Henry's Success; Rebellion of his Sons. — In the eyes of 
the world Henry was richly rewarded for this act of humiliation, 
for he soon received news of the capture of the Scottish king, and 
the consequent defeat of his enemies in the north. The king of 
the Scots, William the Lion, was forced to make the treaty of 




The Penance of Henry II 
After an old painting 



78 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

Falaise and to do homage to Henry as his overlord, an act which 
was to have an influence on future events. The few remaining 
rebellious barons were speedily put down, and all attempts to 
establish baronial independence were ended. 

Henry's sons, instigated probably by the king of France, had 
begun active warfare again in Normandy. The king hurried back 
to the Continent and in a short time was successful in quelling the 
outbreak. I lis terms to the rebels were generous. 

74. Legal and Other Reforms. — Henry now turned to matters 
of reform. The first thing which claimed his attention was the 
administration of justice. As early as u66 he had directed 
the sheriffs in i ase of murder, robbery, and theft to summon men 
of the neighborhood to investigate the case, and ordered that the 
accused should be brought before a justice sent from the courts at 
Westminster to the counties. In i 176 he issued a new Assize, as 
the documents were called, in which the chief authority was given 
to the justices who traveled through the shires on their circuits. 
They were to gain their information regarding crime through 
twelve knights of the neighborhood, or, if this were not practi- 
cable, through twelve freemen and four others. Disputes regard- 
ing lands were to be settled in the royal courts, and, in general, 
the royal power was extended as much as possible. The effect 
of this legislation was to lead the freemen to look to the crown for 
justice rather than to the barons, and so to make legislation 
uniform throughout the kingdom. 

By the Assize of Arms (1181) Henry reorganized the fyrd dr 
militia which dated back to the time of William the Conqueror. 
Heretofore, it had been feudal in its character ; Henry made it 
national. By this document every freeman was bound, according 
to his ability, to secure arms so that he might be ready at any 
time to defend the realm against rebels or invaders. This action 
of Henry is a proof of the strong position he had gained, in that 
by it he trusted himself, not to paid foreign troops or a standing 
army, but to the English freemen themselves. 



REIGN OF HENRY II 



79 



75. The Crusades. Saladin Tax. 1188. — Among the great 
events in history are the crusades. (App. 1, §§ 59, 65.) These 
were military expeditions to rescue from infidels the Holy 
Land and particularly the Holy City, Jerusalem. They were 
begun in 1096, and in 1099 Jerusalem was captured and the 
kingdom of Jerusalem set up. This petty kingdom, owing chiefly 
to the dissensions of the enemies, had lasted until 1187, when it 
fell before Saladin, a great Mohammedan warrior and statesman. 
The Pope now proclaimed a new crusade and thousands enlisted 
in the holy enterprise. Among those who took the cross 1 were 
Henry, his son Richard, and Philip, King of France. 

In order to raise money for the expenses of the war in the East, 
Henry laid a new tax upon his English subjects (1188), known as 
the Saladin Tax. This was levied upon movable or personal prop- 
erty and not upon land, as previous taxes had been. Each man 
was allowed to state the amount of his taxable property, but if any 
doubt arose as to the truth of his statement, a jury of his neighbors 
was summoned to testify. 2 

76. Rebellion of Henry's Sons. Death of Henry II. 11 89. — 
Henry never went on the crusade. Before he was ready to start, 
those who had promised to go were warring among themselves ; 
first Henry and his son Richard against Philip, and then Richard 
and Philip against Henry. At the time of this last conflict Henry 
was ill and did not show his accustomed skill. He was driven 
from place to place and finally was forced to submjt to Philip's 
terms. Among other things he was required to agree that all who 
had followed Richard in his rebellions should be allowed to con- 
tinue that allegiance. When the list of these was shown him, the 
first name was that of his favorite son, John. " Henry turned on 
his couch with a groan. ' Now,' said he, ' let all things go as they 

1 To take the cross meant to pledge oneself to become a crusader. " This was 
symbolized by a small cross of cloth or other material attached to the shoulder of 
the coat or other garment." 

- The rate was one tenth upon all rents and movable or personal property for 
one year. This is the first known instance of an English tax on personal property. 



8o HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

will, I care no more for myself, nor for anything in the world.' " 
He lingered for a few days, repeating again and again, "Shame, 
shame on a beaten king," and then died (1189). 

Henrv II was one of the greatest kings of England, and he lias 
left an enduring influence upon its history. It may be that this 
policy was often selfish, but it is at the same time true that very 
often his interests and those of the realm coincided. He changed 
feudalism in England from a system of government to a system of 
land tenure ; he brought the barons under control ; he vastly im- 
proved the administration of justice ; he laid the foundation of the 
jury system; he made the militia national ; he brought the church 
under the general control of the state ; he gained the good will of 
the people at large; " he established a footing in Ireland and effec- 
tively asserted the suprem 11 yof England over Wales and Scotland." 
When it is remembered that Henry's continental holdings were 
far larger than his British possessions, the question at once arises, 
why was he not equally successful on the Continent? The answei 
-h found. In England, he bent all his energies to make 
himself really king, and to free England from the hindrances of 
feudalism ; while on the Continent he was simply a feudal lord in 
regard to many of the lands over which he was scarcely more than 
nominal ruler ; and moreover he himself on the Continent upheld 
feudalism and was himself a vassal. Besides this, he apparently 
never expected to establish a continental kingdom, as is shown by 
the division of his dominion among his sons. His greatest errors 
were those in his family policy, which caused the misfortunes 
at the close of his reign and were responsible for his pathetic end. 

References. Green, Short History, chap, ii, §§ 4-8 ; Gardiner, Stu- 
dent's History, chaps, vii x ; Terry, History, Part II. chaps, ii— vi ; Tout, Ad- 
/ History, Book II, chaps, i-v; Hunt, Norman Britain ; Johnson, Nor- 
mans in Europe, chaps, xiii-xvi ; Stubbs, Early Plantagenets, chaps, i-v ; 
Adams ami Stephens, Select Documents, 1-20; Cheyney, Readings, chap, vii, 
§§ i— vi ; Colby, Selections, §§ 14-24; Kendall, Source-Book, §§ 15-22; 
Lee, Source-Book, chaps, vii-viii. 



CHAPTER VII 
NORMAN AND ANGEVIN KINGS. RICHARD I — JOHN 

77. Richard I. 1 189. — Henry was succeeded without opposi- 
tion by Richard, his eldest living son. 1 He was in many respects 
the opposite of his father, for while Henry was a soldier from 
necessity, Richard was a warrior by nature. The name by which 
he was best known, Richard Cceur de Lion, Richard of the Lion 
Heart, indicates this. Immediately after his coronation, he began 
to make ready to join the crusade, for he had already assumed the 
cross. To raise money for this purpose he sold office after office 
and privilege after privilege. He sold offices to those who wished 
to buy, and the right to resign offices to those who wished to give 
them up ; he declared other offices vacant and put them up to 
the highest bidder; he sold charters to cities and towns; he 
allowed William of Scotland to buy release from the treaty of 
Falaise made with his father (§ 73) ; with the consent of the 
Pope, he sold the privilege of staying at home to those who, 
having assumed the cross, wished to be relieved of the obligation. 
Never, perhaps, was there a monarch who was so anxious to raise 
money as he. 

Richard, though born at Oxford, had in him little of the 
Englishman, and only seven months of his reign of ten years were 
spent in England. Almost his whole life had been passed in 
Aquitaine. It was well that this was so, for it is almost certain 
that if he had lived in England, dominated as he was by foreign 
ideas, he would have insisted on introducing them into England. 

1 Prince Henry, who had been crowned before his father's death, and who had 
given so much trouble, died in 1183, leaving no children. 

8l 



82 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

As it was, under his representatives England had a for better 
chance to develop on English lines than would have been possible 
had he himself taken active part in the government 

78. Richard and the Crusade. iiSq. — Richard left England 
on the iith of December, 1189. 1 1 is adventures and warlike 
deeds of prowess hive been the theme of many a romance and 
song, for he was the embodiment of the ideal hero of that age. 
He was thirty-two years old, full of the vigor of early manhood 
and thirsting for opportunity to show his strength and bravery. 
He started for the East in the latter part of June, 1190, and for 
three years, in company with Philip Augustas of France, he had 
all the adventures and intrigue that any one could wish. There 
was 1 onstant quarreling between the two kings from the start, for 
they were rivals and jealous ^i each other, at home as well as 
abroad, for Richard's dominions in France were more extensive 
than those of Philip, who was always ready to enlarge his boun- 
daries at the expense of the English king. 

Richard did not reach Syria until 1 1 9 1 , when betook part in 
the siege of A< re, the greatest stronghold in Palestine. This city 
w.is taken largely through his skill, but then, instead of a united 
effort to push on and take Jerusalem, the crusaders quarreled, 
and Philip returned to France to scheme against his rival. Richard 
continued his efforts to recapture Jerusalem ; twice he was within 
a few miles of the city, but found himself unable to go farther 
because his fellow crusaders failed to give him support. Once, 
it is said, he gained a spot from which he could have seen the 
holy city, but he refused to look, saying that if he was not worthy 
to conquer the city, he was not worthy to sec it. 

At last a truce for three years was concluded with the Sultan 
S iladin, the most important feature of which was that the Christians 
were allowed to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem in safety. 

79. Richard's Return and Capture. 1192. — Richard now 
prepared to return home. It was high time, for not only was 
Philip Augustus his active enemy, but his own brother John was 



REIGN OF RICHARD I 



83 



doing all in his power to seize the English throne, an attempt in 

which he was aided by Philip. Richard, on his return from Acre, 

was shipwrecked on the shores of the Adriatic, and attempting to 

make his way through Austria in disguise, was 

discovered, captured, and thrown into prison 

by Leopold, Duke of Austria, whom he had 

mortally offended at the siege of Acre (1 192). 

To treat a crusader in this fashion was a serious 

offense against the church, and the Pope 

promptly excommunicated the duke and laid 

his lands under an interdict. 1 

Leopold paid little attention to this action, 
for Richard was too valuable a prize lightly to 
be disposed of; but he consented to sell his 
interest in the prisoner's ransom to the Em- 
peror of Germany, Henry VI, who was also a 
personal enemy of the English king. 

The ransom demanded by the emperor was 
more than twice as much as the whole reve- 
nue of England for a year. 2 Enough was 
raised to secure Richard's liberation, and host- 
ages were given to secure the payment of the 
balance. Richard was set free in 1 194, after Richard I in Prison 
more than thirteen months of unjust imprison- jj^^ff ol^hcVhW- 

rrient. teenth century 

80. Richard in England. — Richard reached England early in 
1 1 94, after an absence of more than four years. His first act 

1 By this the clergy were forbidden to hold services or to perform certain religious 
rites, such as marriage, etc. 

2 The amount demanded was 150,000 marks, or about 100,000 pounds sterling, 
equal to several million dollars at present values. How much was actually paid is 
not certain, possibly a little more than half, most of which probably came from 
Richard's continental dominions. There is little foundation for the story that 
Richard's prison was discovered by Blondel, one of the minstrels, who, while sing- 
ing a favorite ballad under the walls of the castle, heard the refrain repeated by his 
royal master. 




84 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

was to go to Canterbury and pay his devotions at the shrine of 
St. Thomas a Becket. He then proceeded to London, where he 
was received with acclamation. To please his subjects, Richard 
was crowned again, this time at Winchester, " as if to wipe off the 
stain of his bondage." Most of the time of his brief stay in 
England was taken up with schemes to raise money to pay the 
balance of his ransom. The methods used were similar to those 
employed in collecting funds for the crusade, that is, by selling 
and by confiscating offices and privileges. England was almost in 
a state of war, owing to the plotting of Richard's brother, Prince 
John, and the French king. Richard appointed as justiciar, Hubert 
Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury, and placed the administration 
of the kingdom in his hands. He was a faithful servant to Richard 
and a statesman well trained in the school of Henry II. Under 
his able rule rebellion was put down and the king's authority 
strengthened. Having raised all the money he could, after a stay 
of just two months, Richard left England, never to return. 

81. Richard in France. 1194-1199. His Death. 1199- — 
Richard went to the Continent, not only to settle affairs with Philip 
Augustus, King of France, but because he had no fondness for 
England, and loved the sunny southern lands of Aquitaine. His 
continental possessions needed his presence, for they were split up 
by petty jealousies and grievances. It was owing to this fact that 
the French kings so often stirred up rebellions against the English 
kings in the hope that some of the territory would fall into their 
own hands. Richard was generally successful, but for five years 
he was almost continually at war. At length, hearing that a 
treasure had been found on the land of one of his vassals, he 
promptly claimed it, and when the baron refused to give it up, 
Richard besieged his castle. While reconnoitering, the king was 
shot in the shoulder by an arrow, and as the wound was badly 
treated, blood poisoning set in. Thus it happened that the great 
warrior, who had fought in many fierce battles, died from a hurt 
received in a petty quarrel. 



REIGN OF JOHN 



85 



82. John. 1199. — Richard left no children, and at his death 
but two legitimate male descendants of Henry II were living : 
Arthur, son of Geoffrey, third son of Henry II ; and John, the 
fourth son. Arthur was the legal heir, but he was a boy of twelve 
years. The barons of England had to choose between a man 
and a boy, and it is not surprising that they chose the man. 
This was the last time in English history that a king was chosen 
in this way. 

By common consent John is regarded as the worst king England 
ever had. He was a bad son, a bad brother, a bad father, a bad 
friend, and a bad king. It is said of 
him that " every night he lay down a 
worse man than he had risen up, and 
every morning he rose a worse man 
than he had lain down." He " was a 
selfish, cruel tyrant of the worst type, 
extortionate and unjust, treacherous 
and vindictive, without regard either 
for the spirit or the form of the law, 
and wholly destitute of religious feel- 
ing. . . . What distinguishes his rule R ° YAL Arms of England from 

° Richard I to Edward III 

from that of others is its pettiness, 

meanness, and spitefulness ; its generally irritating character ; and 
the utter absence of any redeeming features." His badness had 
one good result : it united against him, as probably nothing else 
would have done, the clergy, barons, and people, who forced him 
to grant liberties which benefited all classes in the kingdom. 

83. Resistance in French Possessions. Arthur Murdered. 
1203. — John was accepted king in England, but on the Continent 
Arthur was supported by Philip Augustus of France, for selfish 
reasons of his own. Many of the barons of John's provinces in 
France were hostile to him, and, angered by his marriage with *" 
Isabella of Angouleme, rose against him. John charged them with 
treason. The barons appealed to Philip of France, John's over- 




86 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

lord. He summoned John to appear before a council. John re- 
fused to appear, and the council declared John guilty of felony. 
This meant the forfeiture of his fiefs in France. Arthur invaded 
Normandy. John's representative there was his mother, Eleanor, 
who though seventy-eight years old. was vigorous and shrewd. She 
promptly took up arms against her grandson Arthur, but was be- 
1 by him until John came to the rescue. Arthur was carried 
a prisoner to Rouen by his uncle, and. according to popular belief, 
was stabbed and then thrown into the Seine by the same royal 
hand (1203). ''No friend ever ventured to assert John's inno- 
cence, nor did he ever venture to assert it himself, though re- 
peatedly taxed with the murder." 

84. John and Philip Augustus. 1303. — The murder of Arthur 
gave Philip Augustus of France another ex< use to attack the 
English king. He immediately invaded Normandy, Anjou, Maine, 
ami Touraine and added them to his dominions on the ground that 
as John had been found guilty of felony, these fiefs were forfeited 
to him, who was John's liege lord. 

85. John and the Church. Archbishop Langton. 1207. The 
Interdict. 1 208. — -John increased the number of his enemies by 
quarreling with the church. The occasion was the choice of an 
Archbishop of Canterbury, made necessary by the death of Hubert 
Walter (1205). John insisted on nominating the nevr archbishop, 
which was according to custom, but the bishops of the province 
of Canterbury claimed that to them belonged the right to nomi- 
nate. Meanwhile, the monks of the chapter at Canterbury 
selected a man and sent him to Rome to be confirmed by the 
Pope. The Pope at this time was Innocent III, one of the ablest 
of all the Popes. (App. 1, ?s' 74-75.) He declined to accept 
any of the candidates proposed, and appointed Stephen Langton, 
an English ecclesiastic residing at Rome. According to custom 
and tradition, the Pope had not power to make the appointment, 
but Innocent was always ready to seize an opportunity of extend- 
ing the power of the Papacy. No better choice could have 



REIGN OF JOHN 8? 

been made, though Innocent could not have anticipated what 
would result from his action. 

John, incensed at the Pope, swore that he would neither recog- 
nize Langton nor allow him to land in England. But he had in 
Innocent a wily and strong antagonist ready to use all the weapons 
which the church possessed. Innocent placed England under an 
interdict (1208). 1 John remained unmoved; then Innocent ex- 
communicated him. John replied by seizing the estates of the 
bishops who published the decree. But Innocent, going to the 
extreme of power claimed by the Papacy, proclaimed the deposi- 
tion of John from the throne (12 12), and summoned Philip of 
France to head an expedition to England to carry out the decree 
of excommunication, and to assume the English crown. 

86. John yields to the Pope. 1213. — John gathered an army 
to resist Philip, but suddenly John gave way. Around him on 
every side were hidden foes ; his oppression of the barons had 
made enemies of them all ; and Rome, France, Scotland, Ireland, 
and Wales were at war with him. He preferred to yield to the 
Pope rather than to Philip or to his own barons. He therefore 
invited the Pope's legate to come to England ; he agreed to' 
receive Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury; to give back all 
the estates of the church which he had confiscated ; and to 
restore to clergy and laity all rights of which he had deprived 
them. Two days later he surrendered his kingdoms of England 
and Ireland to the Pope, and received them back again as fiefs 
of the Papacy, agreeing to pay for them a yearly rent of 1000 
marks. 2 

By this humiliating act John purchased his peace with the 
church and his security from French attack, for the Pope now for- 
bade further hostilities on Philip's part. But these gains were 
more than offset by the suspicions which filled the minds of the 
people in regard to their ruler. 

1 See § 79, note. 

2 This was equivalent to about £670, or more than $ 12,000 in modern money. 



88 HISTORY OF ENG1 AND 

87. John and the Barons. 12 13-12 15. Battle of Bouvines. 
12 14. — John, anxious now to retaliate on Philip, found that he 
could do nothing until he had made some settlement of matters at 
home. He therefore summoned four men from each county to 
meet at St. Albans ( 1 2 1 3 ) , to agree upon the damages which the 
clergy had suffered and which he had promised to make good. 
The council, however, turned its attention to matters of reform, 
and in the king's name promises of better things were made. 
The barons on their side claimed that the laws of Henry I should 
be made the basis of reform. John now tried to get the barons to 
follow him to Poitou, but they refused, first, because they could not 
serve under an excommunicated king ; and, when this objection had 
been removed by Langton, they refused on the ground of poverty, 
claiming also that they had already served the forty days which, 
under feudal law, were required of them ; nor could they be com- 
pelled to go beyond the seas. The real reason of their refusal 
wis that though of Norman descent and still speaking French, 
these barons had become Englishmen, having all their interests 
in England, and no interest in the designs of John upon France. 
John was enraged at this action, but could do nothing. The 
movement to resist John had become general. It was headed 
by Langton, who, at a council held at St. Paul's, laid before those 
present the charter of Henry I, promising reforms. This was 
received with joy and with demands that this charter should be 
renewed by John. 

In the meantime John had joined a league to support the 
Emperor Otto IV against the Emperor Frederick II and Philip of 
France ; he managed to take with him a number of troops from 
England, and was successful in regaining some of his lost lands 
south of the river Loire. But another army in connection with 
the forces of his allies met Philip's forces at Bouvines, in Flanders, 
and was routed, July 27, 12 14. As a result, England lost all 
the Angevin territory. (App. 1, § 80.) John's power and 
prestige also were so much injured that the barons and their 



THE GREAT CHARTER 89 

associates were emboldened to persist in their demands, which 
were put in writing by Archbishop Langton and placed before 
the king. When he refused to accede to them, an army was 
raised to force him to yield. London ranged itself on the side 
of the barons, and so, deserted by almost all except the hired 
troops he had brought from the Continent, John was compelled 
to yield. 

88. The Great Charter. 12 15. — The king, clergy, and barons 
met at Runnymede on the Thames, not far from Windsor, and 



I ol|dcnxve/V\ Btt Kq 




^c\&J noJu\t\x\\uie\£ P ^Huf^xwe we et omvnm 
WovL 




Facsimile of the Beginning of the Great Charter 

there, on June 15, 12 15, he signed Magna Carta, or the Great 
Charter, which became one of the most valuable guarantees of 
English liberty. 

Previous charters had been granted with professed willingness ; 
the Great Charter was wrung from John. Moreover, it was gained 
by all the classes working together against the king. Though 
it was primarily for the benefit of the barons, it also concerned 
the rights and privileges of all classes. It contained little, if any- 
thing, that was new, but it brought together in one document 
many of the privileges which had been granted from time to time. 
The principle underlying all the sixty-three articles is that there 
should be fair dealing and justice, not only as between king and 
subject, but also as between man and man. It must not, how- 



90 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



ever, be overlooked that in some points the charter was narrow 
and partial, as, for instance, in regard to the church. 

The main provisions of the charter may be grouped under five 
heads: (i) The church: this was to be free and to have all its 
rights and privileges unimpaired. What these were, is not ex- 
plained, and so an open door was left for doubt as to what rights 
and privileges were meant. (2) Feudal rights and customs: 
there had been great abuse of these, both by the kings and by 
the barons themselves in the treatment of their vassals. Some 
of these abuses were remedied or lessened. (3) The rights and 
privileges of the towns: London and all other cities, boroughs, 
villages, ports, etc., were to enjoy all their old liberties and cus- 
toms by land and sea. (4) Trade and commerce: "Merchants 
from friendly states to be free to come and go, and trade subject 
only to the payment of established customs and duties." Native 
subjects to come and go as they pleased, except in time of war. 
(5) Certain general clauses, perhaps the most important of all. 
Some of these were, "Justice not to be sold or delayed or refused 
to any man." " No free man to be taken or imprisoned or disseized * 
or outlawed or in any way destroyed, except by the lawful judgment 
of his peers, or by the laws of the land." Besides these matters, 
there were directions regarding the summoning of councils, the 
administration of justice, etc. Almost every important interest 
of the realm was at least touched upon. 

89. Renewal of Struggle between John and the Barons. 
1 215. — Agreements are of little account unless some method is 
provided for carrying them out, and so the barons, for the first 
time, made such a provision. It was provided, first, that John 
should dismiss the foreign troops which he had hired and brought 
into England ; and, second, that a body of twenty-five barons 
should be chosen by the barons to hear any complaints of in- 
fringements of the Charter by the king, and in case of failure 

1 " Disseized," that is, have his land taken from him. " Peers," his equals in 
rank. 



REIGN OF JOHN 



91 



to redress, they were to have the right to enforce by arms its 
provisions. 

John had no intention of keeping the agreement into which he 
had entered. Pope Innocent, indignant that a matter which con- 
cerned his feudal authority should have been settled without 
appeal to him, absolved John from his oath 
of agreement, threatened to excommunicate 
the barons, and, a little later, suspended 
Archbishop Langton and summoned him to 
Rome. All this was a serious blow to the 
cause of liberty. The removal of Langton 
took away the real head of the movement and 
the barons became disorganized. Meanwhile 
John with his hired troops began to lay waste 
the lands of the barons, and for a time it 
seemed as if he was to be victor. 

90. Louis of France invited to England. 

Death of John. 12 16. — The barons felt 

forced to call in foreign aid, and sent to 

Louis, son of the king of France, asking him 

to come to England and assume the English 

crown. As Louis had married John's niece, 

he had some slight support for his claim. 

He asserted that John had forfeited the crown Effigy of King John 

by the murder of Prince Arthur and bv his 0n his tomb in Worces- 
. ., J ter Cathedral 

failure to keep his coronation oath. These 

were flimsy pretexts; the only valid reason for the coming of 

Louis being the invitation of the barons and the English people. 

Louis accepted the offer and came to England with an army in 

May, 1 2 16. Fortunately for the English, John died suddenly, 

October 19, 12 16, and the land was saved from civil war. John's 

eldest son, Henry, was about nine years old, and the barons felt 

that affairs would be safer in the hands of a young English prince 

controlled by Englishmen than in those of a foreigner. Louis, 




9 2 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



finding that he was losing his adherents one after another, resigned 
his claim and returned to France. Meanwhile, William Marshall, 
Karl of Pembroke, who had been appointed " Governor of the 
King and the Kingdom," issued in a somewhat revised form the 
Great Charter, thereby indicating the character of the government 
which might be expected. 1 

The reign of John will always be remembered for two events of 
the utmost importance in the development of the Knglish people. 
These were : (i) The loss of Normandy, which made England a 
kingdom whose chief interests lay in the Hritish Isles, and there- 
fore allowed the English to develop on their own lines, thus pre- 
serving the essential features of Anglo-Saxon institutions. (2) The 
signing of the Magna Carta, a document setting forth the most 
important constitutional privileges of Knglishmen, arranged in a 
convenient form, which could be appealed to from time to time. 

References. — Green, Short History, chap, ii, §§6-9; chap. iii. §§ 1-3; 
Gardiner, Students History, chaps, xi-\ii; Terry, History, Part II, chaps, 
vi-vii; Tout, Advanced History, Book III, chaps, vi-vii; Stubbs, Early 
Plantagenets, chaps, vi-vii; Adams and Stephens, Select A>< tutnents, §§ 
. Readings, chap, viii, §§ iv— v; Colby, Selections, §§27, 
29-30; Kendall, Source-Book, § 24; Lee, Source-Book, chap, viii, §§64, 
65, chaps, ix-x. 

1 The chief revision was the omission of the clauses which prohibited the raising 

of taxes without the consent of the Great Council, and those which related to the 

appointment of the body of twenty-five men to enforce the Charter. It was doubt- 

i, now that |ohn was out of the way, that these provisions, so contrary to the 

general ideas of the age, might be dropped. 



CHAPTER VIII 
NORMAN BRITAIN. 1066-1216 

91. General Results of the Norman Conquest. — Among the 
results of the Norman Conquest and rule were a growth of unity 
among the people, and the establishment of an organized govern- 
ment with an almost despotic king, whose power was only occasion- 
ally held in check by the church and the nobles (or barons). The 
semifeudalism existing in England was modified and extended 
so as to increase the power of the king. " William made the title 
to all land depend on his own grant and bound every landowner to 
himself by a tie of allegiance." 

A marked difference from continental feudalism is seen in the 
fact that in England there was no privileged noble caste. The 
son of a noble did not share his father's honors or privileges, 
though he might have honors and privileges conferred on him 
independently of his father. This old English custom has never 
been changed. 

The Conquest made England a European nation, and the Nor- 
man kings called themselves Kings of the English. Hurtful as 
her continental wars were in many regards, they certainly gave 
England a place in continental politics and increased her self- 
respect. 

92. Domestic Life. — There was comparatively little change in 
the domestic life of the people, especially among the lower classes. 
In medieval times social habits and customs were far more station- 
ary than in modern times. Among the upper classes the manners 
and customs were rather more refined than before the Conquest. 
The Norman was not as hearty an eater as the Englishman, and 
preferred lighter and more delicately prepared food. Continental 

93 



94 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



luxuries were introduced, and the dress of the upper classes 
became more elaborate. The tunics were richly embroidered, 
and the shoes had pointed toes carried out to an absurd length. 
The Englishman wore his hair long, the Norman cut his short, 
and shaved his face. The character of the houses and the general 
manner of living made social intercourse between men and women, 
the youth, and boys and girls easy, and these facts partly explain 
the low plane of morality which is found in the chronicles and 
romances of the age. The so-called chivalry of the Middle Ages 
was too often only on the surface. The medieval man and the 
"gallant" were often brutes in their treatment of women and of 
those whom they considered beneath them. 

93. The People. — By the opening of the thirteenth century 
there was little distinction between the descendants of the Nor- 
man conquerors and the English. Thrown together in close asso- 
ciation, intermarriages were a common occurrence among 
almost all classes, and the children of these marriages looked 
upon themselves as Englishmen, so that the conquerors and con- 
quered very soon became like each other in manners and habits. 
Undoubtedly one reason of this was the difficulty of communica- 
tion and transportation. The Norman was practically cut off from 
his old home, and was compelled willingly or unwillingly to adapt 
himself to his new surroundings. His children never knew the 
home of their fathers on the Continent, and with them of course 
English influences would prevail. 

94. Classes. — Land continued to be the great source of wealth 
and position. As under Saxon rule, the earls came first, then the 
greater barons, and then the lesser barons, and next the knights. 1 
Below the knights came the small freeholders or free tenants, who 
had houses and lands of their own and who made a small annual 

1 The earl was formerly the eorl ; the greater barons were large landowners 
and received individual summons to the king's council ; the lesser barons were 
smaller landowners and were summoned by means of a writ directed to the sheriff 
of their county or shire ; the knight was originally an armed and mounted soldier 
and afterward a landowner smaller than a lesser baron. 



NORMAN BRITAIN 



95 



payment, something like the modern ground rent, to the lord of 
the manor. The free tenant could not sell his land without mak- 
ing a payment to the lord of the manor # for the privilege, and 
when he died his heirs had to make a payment on succession. 

Next came the villeins. These were like serfs ; they could not 
move away from the manor or be married without the permission 
of the lord of the manor ; they paid a small ground rent for the 
land they occu- 
pied, and were in 
addition bound to 
perform various 
services for the 
lord of the manor, 
such as to plow 
his land and carry 
in his grain at time 
of harvest. Their 
services were regu- 
lated not by law 
but by. custom. 
Perhaps on the 

average more than half of the villein's time was given to the lord 
of the manor. 

95. Manorial System. — The relation of the landowner to his 
tenants was rather that of a ruler than a simple owner ; he was 
like the king of a little state. He not only controlled the land 
but had jurisdiction, also. There was a manorial court, where a 
great variety of cases were tried, such as disputes as to land, suc- 
cession to property, failure to perform required or customary 
duties, and criminal cases. 

The manors varied greatly in size, and one lord might have 
several manors, and the king several hundred. These manors were 
cultivated under the " open field system." The land was divided 
into strips containing an acre or less in each, a certain number of 




Manor House in Shropshire 
Built in the twelfth century 



9 6 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



which were held by the lord and were cultivated solely for his 
benefit. The strips were separated from each other by a narrow 
piece of unplowed land. These strips were cultivated according 
to some system of rotation of crops. The variety was small : 
wheat, rye, barley, field peas, and beans were the chief; root 
crops were generally neglected, and potatoes were as yet unknown. 
Hay for winter was obtained from meadow land, which was highly 

valued and considered worth at 
least as much as arable land. 
Pasture was obtained on the un- 
cultivated land and in the woods. 
After the hay was mown and 
cured, the meadows were also 
used for pasture and so were the 
fields after the crops were har- 
vested. As a rule, the pasturage 
was common and the animals were 
under the care of shepherds or 
other guardians. 

The land of any one man was 
not necessarily or usually in one 
place, but was scattered. He 
would own a strip here and an- 
other somewhere else, and still 
others at other places. 1 The land 
of his neighbors as well as that of 
the lord of the manor would be 
similarly scattered. The land, the woods, and meadows owned 
by the lord of the manor were called the " demesne," and not in- 
frequently amounted to fully half of the whole manor. Systems 
of agriculture were poor ; eight or nine bushels of wheat to the 




Manor witu Open Fields 

In Yorkshire the shaded strips were 
the share of the priest. 



. l A modification of the open field system still survives in Germany. Within a 
very few years, in a village near Olmiitz, Moravia, one man had eighteen different 
holdings of land, no two of which touched each other. 



NORMAN BRITAIN 97 

acre was considered a good yield. Tools were primitive and in- 
effective. Owing to the high cost of iron, even plows were often 
of wood and did little more than scratch the ground. 1 

There was much that was ineffective and objectionable in this 
system. Life also was hard, and to us seems to have had few en- 
joyments. On the other hand, the close relationship between 
those who lived on the manor, the common pasture, the common 
woods, the strips of land inextricably mixed up, the tenants' share 
in the common service for the lord of the manor, their one church, 
and their one court, bound them closely together. When to this sys- 
tem is added the difficulty of communication with other parts of 
the country the result was a self-centered community which cer- 
tainly must have been a powerful factor in making the country 
and its institutions stable. 

96. Towns and Town Life. — Perhaps in no field of develop- 
ment was there greater change than in the towns. These under 
Norman rule increased greatly in number and importance. At 
the close of the reign of John (1216) there were about two hun- 
dred towns in England. Of these, London, with a possible popu- 
lation of 25,000, stood first, followed by York and Bristol with 
about 10,000 each. The average size was probably about 2500. 
These towns were generally protected by walls, gates, and some- 
times by moats, also. Though the government of these towns varied 
somewhat, all held charters from the king, giving the town certain 
privileges or guaranteeing old customs. Each town regulated its 
own concerns, and paid taxes to the king as a community, so the 
townsman was free from the petty exactions of a lord of the 
manor. All inhabitants of the town, however, had not equal privi- 
leges, for these were based on ownership of property within the 

1 The " three field system " prevailed to a great extent. This was to let one 
third of the land lie fallow for a year; one third to be planted with spring-sown 
crops; and one third with autumn-sown crops. The next year the fallow land 
would be planted with an autumn or spring crop ; that which had had a spring 
crop with an autumn crop or would be let lie fallow, and so on. In the fourth year 
the first field would lie fallow again. 



g8 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

town limits. As the business of the countryman was agriculture, 
so the business of the townsman was trade of some sort, or man- 
ufacturing, or both, though some townsmen owned land outside 
the town, which they farmed. 

97. Merchant Gilds. — There had gradually grown up a system 
of organizations known as gilds, the object of which was to pro- 
tect and regulate the trade and industries of the town. Every 
particular of trade was carefully regulated so as to preserve as far 
as possible the monopoly to each gild. Trading by foreigners 
was particularly guarded against, and they were allowed to buy 
and sell only under the most rigid rules. The merchant gilds 
were also somewhat of the nature of mutual benefit organizations. 1 

98. Castles. — Very few castles appear to have existed in 
England before the Conquest, but one of the first actions of the 
Conqueror was to build a castle wherever he wished to secure 
obedience to his rule. This was, naturally, often near or in a 
town. The building was raised on a mound in a commanding 
situation, from which its garrison could keep watch and sally forth 
when occasion required. Besides royal castles a large number 
were erected by the great lords. These fortresses were at first 
made of wood, but soon stone was substituted. The prevailing 
type was a square keep of massive construction, with walls of 
great thickness,- and with small and high windows. Around this 
keep were often small structures of wood or stone used in times 
of peace. The White Tower of the Tower of London, begun by 
William I in 1078, and that of Newcastle built in 1080, are exam- 
ples of the earlier type of stone castles, and Newark, Rochester, 
and Castle Rising, built during the troublous reign of Stephen, 
are examples of the later type. 3 

99. Architecture. — The English were by no means deficient in 
architecture. The prevailing type of the early Norman churches 4 

1 Merchant Gilds must be distinguished from the Craft Gilds, which for the most 
part come later. 2 The walls of the White Tower are fifteen feet thick. 

:i See pictures on pages 54 and 65. 
4 Fine architecture was almost confined to churches, monasteries, and castles. 



NORMAN BRITAIN 



99 



was massive, with round arches and heavy round pillars, either 
severely plain, or but slightly ornamented. Among the finest 
remaining examples are the nave of Durham Cathedral, Norwich 
Cathedral, and parts of Winchester ; of the later period there are 
the cathedrals at Peterborough and Ely. 

In the latter part of the twelfth century the pointed, or what is 
known as the Gothic, style came into use. This had the great 




The Choir of Durham Cathedral 

advantage of allowing stone vaulted roofs, for which the Norman 
style was not as well suited. The Gothic also allowed slender and 
graceful columns, loftier ceilings, larger and pointed windows, 
greater ornamentation, and a lighter effect generally. The change 
was gradual, and one may see in the same cathedral two or more 
styles in close proximity. 1 

The Normans were great builders, and hundreds of earlier 
churches were pulled down, and new ones built in their stead, often 
on the sites of the old. 

1 It is impossible to give exact dates when a change is gradual, but the Gothic 
was practically fixed by 1200. 



IOO 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



100. Monasticism and Monasteries. — The growth of monasti- 
cism and of monasteries in Europe from the ninth to the twelfth 
century was very great (App. i, §§ 47-50), and England was 
no exception. The Norman was fond of the system and greatly 
assisted in its development on English soil. Many monasteries 
were set up and received large grants of 
land. It was said, and doubtless believed 
by many, that only in and through the 
cloister could the religious life of the 
people be reformed ; to give to a mon- 
astery was held to be a duty. The Nor- 
man establishments were at first of the 
order of St. Benedict, or Benedictines ; 
and afterwards, in the twelfth century, 
mostly Cistercians or White Monks, an 
offshoot of the Benedictines. These had 
a stricter and more ascetic rule than the 
Benedictines and their church services 
were much more simple. They generally 
sought quiet and retired places for their 
buildings. 

Their advent was contemporaneous 
with a religious revival of wide extent, 
and the very severity of their rule at- 
tracted people of all classes. Their es- 
tablishments were most frequent in the 
north of England. The remains of Tin- 
tern, Rievaulx, and Fountains abbeys 
bear eloquent testimony to the wealth and power which they at- 
tained. For, like all other foundations, prosperity was followed by 
relaxation in discipline and in habits of life. The Cistercians and 
the kindred orders undoubtedly did service in reclaiming waste 
lands, in carrying on and improving some arts and trades, and in 
preserving manuscripts and developing literature. But the system 




?i ^?N|! 



- ■ ■■ 'J ■ ' 

Early English Gothic 
Spire 



NORMAN BRITAIN 



IOI 



itself hurtful in that it tended to lessen the sense of social 
gation, and the very charity of the monks, though well mean- 
was often harmful rather than helpful. They seem to have 
e nothing in the twelfth century for secular education. 
01. Education; Universities. — -The Norman period saw the 
val of education, a part of the general European movement, 
p. i, § 73.) At first education was for those who expected 
:nter the church as clerks or clergy, but through many infiu- 




Ruins of Fountains Abbey 

es, among them that of the crusades, the desire for education 
*ad, and secular education came into being. The teachers at 
: were churchmen, but afterwards laymen took up the task, 
md these teachers gathered students of various ages, and in 
e permanent teaching centers were established. The greatest 
hose on the Continent was at Paris, to which thousands of stu- 
its flocked. 1 The exact date of the founding of Oxford and 
nbridge cannot be fixed. One Robert Pullein, who had been 
ned at Paris, began to lecture on the Scriptures at Oxford in 
13, and this is the first known date of instruction being given, 

1 For a fuller account of the rise of the universities, see § 122. 



102 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



ill 



- 



MrfU 



1] 



though a reference is made to Oxford as a place for students, 
and to a Norman, Theobald, as a lecturer, as early as 1 1 1 7. Cam- 
bridge is said to have been begun by a secession of students from 
Oxford in 1209. 

102. Language and Literature. — The effect of the Conquest on 
language was to make English the language of the people. The 
Norman landowners and those around the court spoke Norman 
French. Of the first seven Norman kings, from William I to 
John, it is likely that only Henry II could 
both understand and speak English. Henry 
1 is said to have been able to understand but 
not to speak it. The monks and clergy 
wrote and spoke Latin. This was the uni- 
versal language of the church and of learned 
men, and all but the most elementary in- 
struction was given in it. Most ofthe literary 
work that was done in England during the 
Norman period was in Latin. 1 The language 
of the English was less affected by the Nor- 
man than by the Danish conquest; but not 
having a literature to give it a standard, a 
number of dialects were the result. The 
three chief ones were the southern, the 
middle, and the northern. It is from 
the middle English that our modern English 
has sprung. 
The close of the twelfth century saw the beginning of a new 
literary movement which was to develop into a national English 
literature. The great pioneer in this development was Layamon 
(about 1200), a priest of Ernley-upon-Sevem. His great work, 
The Brut, consisting of over 32,000 lines, is a history of Britain 
based on legends. The poet's chief object, he says himself, 

1 Sucli as the Chronicles of William <.f Malmesbury (d. 1143 (?)), Geoffrey of 
Monmouth (d. 1154), and Rogn of I loveden (d. 1201 (?)). 




TOW! R OF M \<.i>\i 1 N 
Coi.l 1 >.I . < Kn.KIi 



NORMAN BRITAIN IO3 

was to " tell the noble deeds of Englishmen " in their own 
tongue. 1 

103. Government; Courts; etc. — Various changes in the gov- 
ernment have been described in the previous chapters, but the 
greatest was in respect to the power of the king, which had become 
almost despotic. The old Witenagemote of the Anglo-Saxon 
times was replaced by the Great Council, which was composed of 
the greater tenants of the crown, but it had comparatively little 
real power. It criticised, but there is little evidence for supposing 
that any great laws were either begun or altered by it. The system 
of law courts was greatly developed, especially under Henry II. 
The great officers of government were the Justiciar, the king's 
chief adviser or minister, and his regent when absent from the 
country ; the Chancellor, who was the Secretary and holder of the 
great seal, and issuer of state documents ; and the Treasurer or 
financial officer. Up to the close of the twelfth century and later, 
these offices were generally held by church dignitaries. The 
reason for this was, partly because ecclesiastics were the best 
educated men, and partly because being unmarried there was 
no risk of the office becoming hereditary, which might be hurtful 
to kingly authority. Minor courts and local government have 
already been touched upon. 

References. — Traill, Social England, vol. I, chap, iii; Cheyney, Industrial 
and Social England, chap, i, §§ 6-7; chaps, ii-iv; Tout, Advanced History, 
Book II, chap, viii ; A. Jessop, Coming of the Friars, etc., Essays, ii-iii; 
Cheyney, Readings, chap, ix, §§ i-iv; Colby, Selections, §§ 25, 28; Ken- 
dall, Source-Book, § 23; Lee, Source- Book, chap, viii, §§ 63, 64; chap, ix, 
§67. 

1 The opening lines of the poem are : — Or in modern English : — 

" An preost wes on leoden, " A priest was on the land, 
Layamon wes ihoten, Layamon was he hight (called); 

He wes Leovenathes sone; He was Lovenath's son; 

Li the him beo Drihte; Gracious to him be the Lord 

He wonede at Ernleye He dwelled at Ernley, 

Upon Severne Stothe.'' On Severn's Bank." 



CHAPTER IX 

RISE OF THE ENGLISH NATION AND GROWTH OF 
PARLIAMENT 

104. Henry III. 1216. — The reign of Henry III is one of 
the longest in English history, 1 and in the course of it Henry suc- 
ceeded in getting the ill will of all classes. He was vain and un- 
trustworthy, weak and vacillating ; on the other hand he was, as 
compared with his father, King John, and his ancestors, moral and 
religious. He spent much money in the building and improvement 
of churches, and he was always ready to listen to the claims of the 
Papacy and yield to them, even at the expense of his own subjects. 
His heart was on the Continent rather than in England, and he 
filled his court with rs. He was fond of pomp and mag- 
nificence and was very extravagant. It is said that his debts 
amounted to four times his annual income, and to raise funds 
offices were sold and money wrung in every possible way from 
all classes. 

His reign is divided into four fairly well-defined periods: (1) 
the period of his minority (1216-1227); (2) that of personal 
rule (1227-1258) ; (3) the period of the Barons' Wars and Pro- 
visions of Oxford (1258-1265); (4) a period of peace and 
prosperity for the country, a time when he was under the influence 
of his son, afterward Edward I (1 265-1272). 

105. Minority of Henry III. 1216-1227. — (1) During the 
early years of Henry's minority the government was under the 
strong hand of William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, who, before 
his death in 12 19, had succeeded both in expelling the French and 
in restoring order; he had also more than once confirmed the 

1 Henry reigned fifty-six; George III, sixty; and Victoria, sixty-four years. 

104 



REIGN OF HENRY III 



I05 



Great Charter. He was followed by Hubert de Burgh, an able, 
patriotic man, who was determined that England should be gov- 
erned for the benefit of the English. He refused to admit the 
papal claims upon England and dismissed from the country the 
legates that the Pope had sent. He maintained the authority of 
the king as against the barons, and reoccupied the royal castles 
which, in the troublous times, some of the barons had seized. 

106. Personal Rule of Henry III ; Foreign Favorites. — (2) In 
1227 Henry declared himself of age and took the government 
into his own hands. The thirty-one 

years of Henry's personal rule are 
marked by misgovernment at home ; 
an unpatriotic, weak, and humiliating 
policy in regard to papal demands ; 
and a severe and irritating treatment 
of Aquitaine and Gascon}. 1 

In 1232 Hubert was dismissed by 
Henry, who came almost wholly under 
the influence of one of his father's 
Poitevin favorites, Peter de Roches, 
Bishop of Winchester. Two years later 
he also was dismissed, and Henry 
carried on the government himself. 
Almost hopeless disorder was the result. 
There was now a great influx of for- 
eigners into England, and every pos- 
sible office and gift was bestowed upon 
foreign favorites. 

107. Personal Rule Continued. — 
In 1236 Henry married Eleanor of 




Henry III 

After the effigy in Westminster 
Abbey 



1 That these provinces recognized the English rule was clue to the fact that they 
knew it was better to be under a distant monarch like Henry, than under a near 
neighbor like the French king. They had practically to choose between these two : 
under the former there was a chance of gaining independence; under the latter, 
none whatever. They were the only continental provinces remaining to England. 



I06 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

Provence, a sister of the French queen. This marriage brought a 
fresh swarm of greedy foreigners into the country. This led to the 
exaction of still larger sums from the barons and the people. In 
1242 Henry made an ill-advised and costly expedition to France 
to recover Poitou from the French. He was defeated and had to 
make a shameful truce by which he gave up all claim to Poitou. 
He was followed home by still more foreigners eager to enrich 
themselves with English spoils. 1 

108. Discontent of the Barons. 1 244-1 258. — The patience 
of the barons and of all patriotic men wis nearly exhausted. 
Again and again had the barons, in return for concessions from the 
king, -ranted him money, only to find that the royal word was 
worthless. Matthew Paris, a chronicler of the time, writes, "The 
king breaks everything: the laws, his good faith, his promises." 
In 1244 the earls, 1>. irons, and bishops met in a great council, 
which about this time began to be called a Parliament,-' and 
demanded control over the appointment of ministers who should 
carry on the government and be responsible to the council. 
Though they were Dot successful, the attempt shows the advance 
in public opinion. It was during these years of Henry's misgOV- 
ernment that the English slowly and painfully learned that the 
king was really dependent upon the nation, and when this fact was 
clearly understood, there were but few steps to representative 
government. In 1257 there was a bad harvest, and then came a 
hard winter. It was quite in accord with his character for the king 
at this time to seize a quantity of grain which was imported from 
Germany, and sell it at high prices. He had, moreover, at the 
request of Pope Innocent, accepted the crown of Sicily for his 
youngest son, Edmund, and agreed to furnish the money required 
to win it for him. 3 For four years (1 254-1 25S) Henry used 

1 One of the results of this invasion of foreigners was a fresh introduction of 
French words into the English language. 
- The first recorded instance is in 1246. 
fhis si 1 mi ended in a complete failure. 



GROWTH OF PARLIAMENT 



IO7 



every means possible to furnish the treasury of the Pope with 
funds. He borrowed money from all who would lend, he wrung 
it from the unfortunate Jews, he raised all that he could by taxa- 
tion, and he also demanded large sums from the clergy. This con- 
duct exhausted the patience of all classes. 

109. Mad Parliament; Provisions of Oxford. — (3) In the 
spring of 1258 a Parliament was held in London. The king's 
object in calling it was to get more money, but Parliament insisted 
on redress of grievances. From its character and determination, 
it has been termed the Mad Parliament. The king was forced to 
consent to the appointment of a committee of twenty-four persons 
to draw up a scheme of reform for the administration of affairs. 
This was to be presented to an adjourned session to be held at 
Oxford in the early summer. The Parliament met as appointed 
and presented a scheme known as the Provisions of Oxford, which 
arranged for a new government to be carried on practically by a 
council. 1 The king could not well do otherwise than give his oath 
to support the plan. Some good resulted from the Provisions of 
Oxford, but the arrangement was too clumsy to be successful, and 
the members of the committee soon quarreled among themselves. 
These dissensions gave the king and his friends new courage, and 
Henry obtained a dispensation from the Pope releasing him from 
his oath. The condition of affairs became very unsatisfactory, and 
both parties agreed to leave the whole question to the decision of 
Louis IX of France. Louis heard the case at Amiens, in France, 
and his award is known as the Mise of Amiens 2 (1264). 

110. Mise of Amiens ; Barons' Wars ; Defeat of Henry. 1264. 
— Louis IX had such a reputation for honesty and purity of 
life that he is known as St. Louis, but unfortunately he knew little 
about conditions in England and could only apply the remedy 
that was obviously necessary in France at that time, which was 

1 The king was to be assisted by a council of fifteen chosen by the twenty-four 
named above. This council was to appoint all the important state officers, and to 
meet three times a year a committee of twelve men chosen by the barons. 

- Mise (mez), an award or arbitration. 



IOS HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

the strengthening of the royal power. Nor could he bring himself 
to admit that kingly rule, which to his mind was divinely ordered, 
should be limited or restrained. He therefore decided almost 
wholly in favor of the king, and annulled the Provisions of Oxford 
together with all arrangements which had followed them. He 
decided, however, that all the charters which had been granted 
before the Provisions of Oxford should hold good. (App. i, §92.) 

Neither party was satisfied with the decision; many of the 
barons deserted their leader, Simon de Montfort, 1 and went over 
to the king, but Simon had still a large following composed of 
m<»st of the clergy, the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the 
towns, and the great mass of the people. He therefore de- 
termined to resist the royal forces. War began in the spring of 
12(14. ;,Ilt l at Lewes the king was defeated and taken prisoner, as 
was also his eldest son, Edward. The success of the movement 
was undoubtedly due to Simon de Montfort. 

111. Simon de Montfort. — This remarkable man belonged to a 
Norman family, and for many years his inte^StS were outside of 
ml. lb inherited the Duchy of Leicester, and by his private 
marriage with the king's sister roused the indignation of the barons, 
who were jealous of foreign intruders. Within a few months he 
quarreled with Henry ami was driven from England, but he was 
soon received again at court. Prudence now led him to live for 
a time in retirement, and he thus had an opportunity to watch the 
workings of English rule. The result was to make him foremost 
among those interested in reform, so that Henry welcomed the 
chance to send him to a safe distance as ( iovcrnor of Oascony. 

1 Simon de Montfort was tin- son of a Simon de Montfort who was celebrated for 
leading in 1209 a crusade against the Aibigenses, an heretical sect in southern 
France. (App. 1, §7/.) The family was Norman, but the sons of Simon the 
elder had a claim on the Duchy of Leicester through their grandmother, and his 
brothers having resigned their rights, Simon, the fourth son, claimed and received 
the duchy. He did not take up his residence in England for some years, but in 
1236 he was present at the marriage of the king, and two years after married 
Eleanor, the king's sister ; the marriage was a private one, but took place, it is said, 
with the knowledge of the king. 



SIMON DE MONTFORT 



IO9 



For several years he gave that turbulent province severe but good 
government — the best it had known. In 1256 Simon returned 
to England and found the king as hostile toward him as ever. 

112. Simon de Montfort, the Leader. — From this time Simon 
de Montfort was prominent in the councils and work of the 
baronial party. In comparison with those around him his life 
was pure and temperate, he was 
deeply religious, had a keen 
sense of honor, and was cheerful 
in his social intercourse ; but, on 
the other hand, he was of a quick 
and high temper and impatient 
of opposition. He was bold and 
determined, a brave and skillful 
soldier, a learned man and states- 
man. He was unquestionably a 
great man and, for his age, a 
good one ; but that all his ends 
were patriotic, or that he was not 
at times cruel, cannot be af- 
firmed. Without question, he 
stands out above all others in 
Henry's reign as a leader against 
tyranny and as an advocate of a 
government in which the people should have a larger share of 
power. That the people believed him to be their friend is shown 
by the popular ballads of the time, in which he is styled "The 
Strong," " The True," " The Steadfast," " The Pillar of Righteous- 
ness." Such was the man who was the leader of the revolt against 
the king. 

113. Mise of Lewes, 1264; Parliament. — The day after the 
defeat at Lewes the king was compelled to sign what is known as 
the Mise of Lewes. By this he promised to confirm the Provisions 
of Oxford, and to agree to a new arrangement by which the king- 




Simon de Montfort 
After a window in Chartres Cathedral 



I 10 HISTORY "i ENGLAND 

dom should be governed. To devise this scheme a Parliament 
was called (1264). The important feature of the new plan was 
that there should be three electors or councilors appointed, in 
accordance with whose advice the kirn; must act. Of these three 
Simon de Montfort was the chief. For about a year these three 
men were the real rulers of England, though they were nominally 
msible to Parliament- 

114. Parliament of 1265. 1265-1272. — (4) It became 
needful to (all a new Parliament. To that of 1 264 de Montfort 
had summoned, besides the bishops and abbots, earls and barons, 
four knights from each shire ; but now, in addition to these clergy 
and barons and knights of the shire, there were two representatives 
from each of certain towns. This is known as the Famous Parlia- 
ment of 1 265. In it, f>r the first time, all classes of free Englishmen 

represented. It was not, however, like a modern Parliament, 

because only tl summoned who were favorable to Mont- 

fort and his government ; and also because the chief busin 
the Parliament was not to make laws, but to force the king I 
in accordance with old customs. The chief importance of this 
Parliament is that it made a precedent for the future. 

115. De Montfort's Failure and Death. 1205. ■ — I »■• Montfort 
not a wise organizer or ruler. His imperious manner, and 

probably the insolence of his sons, together with the hostility of 
the Pope, the natural dislike of the English to have their king in 
captivity, and the jealousy of the barons all worked against him, 
and it was not many months before the country was in a state of 
civil war. Prince Edward escaped from his guardians and joined 
the army against de Montfort. The younger Simon was driven 
within the walls of Kenilworth Castle, while the Prince hurried to 
meet the earl, who was at Evesham, not far from Worcester. At 
first Simon thought it was his son come to help him, but when he 
saw that it was Prime Edward, he said : "They come on in wise 
fashion, but it was from me that they learnt it. Let us commend 
our souls to God, for our bodies are our foe's." The conflict was 



REIGN OF HENRY III III 

a desperate one. When his horse was brought to the ground, the 
earl fought on foot until a blow from behind killed him. After 
the battle his body was horribly mutilated, but the monks of 
Evesham buried it with great honor. His tomb became an 
object of pilgrimage, for the people of England regarded him as a 
saint. 1 

116. Dictum of Kenilworth. 1266. — Though the cause of 
the barons seemed lost there were many in the royal ranks who, 
while they hated Simon, shared his desire for greater political 
liberty. Among these was Prince Edward himself. The action 
of the king in immediately revoking the popular measures adopted 
during his captivity, and in confiscating the property of the de Mont- 
forts and their supporters, aroused widespread national indigna- 
tion. Moreover, there was still active resistance from those 
who had little hope from yielding to the king. Prince Edward 
and others now saw that conciliation was absolutely necessary to 
restore peace, and so an agreement was drawn up, known as the 
Dictum of Kenilworth (1266), which allowed those whose estates 
had been confiscated to redeem them by a payment of money, 
while the king, on his part, was to restore the charters. It was 
not until 1267 that quiet was established. Then, at the Parlia- 
ment of Marlborough, the king renewed the Provisions of West- 
minster, 2 by which most of the valuable reforms were made part 
of the law of the land, and Simon's cause, apparently lost, was 
really victorious. 

117. Peaceful End of Henry's Reign. 1270-1272. — By 1270 
England was so peaceful that Prince Edward felt that he could 
fulfill a long- cherished desire to go on a crusade. Accompanied 
by his wife, Eleanor of Castile, and by many English knights and 

1 One of the ballads of the times says : — 

" But by his death Karl Simon hath 
In sooth the victory won, 
Like Canterbury's martyr he 
There to the death was done." — F. York Powell's version. 

2 The Provisions of Westminster, issued in 1259, carried out in some respects 
more fully the Provisions of Oxford. 



I 12 HIST" >RY OF ENGLAND 

nobles, he went as fur as Acre, but did not accomplish anything 
of importance. 1 

Id 1272 Henry died, but so quiet was the country that Edward 
did not hesitate to remain abroad about two years. Meantime, he 
was proclaimed king without any objection, and there was not, as 
hitherto, a formal choice of a king. It was the first time in Eng- 
lish history that the succession of the eldest son had been ac- 
knowledged as a matter of course. 

118. Coming of the Friars. — One of the significant movements 
of the thirteenth century was the coming of the Friars, or Mendicant 
Friars. (App. 1, §§ 69-72.) To these faithful, earnest mission- 
aries is chiefly due the religious revival of that century. England 
shared in the results of the movement. The I Dominicans made their 
first appearance in England in 1220. The Franciscans followed in 
1224. " In five years from their first arrival the Friars had estab- 
lished themselves in almost every considerable town in England." 

Conditions in England were favorable for the coming of the 
Friars. The latter part of the reign of Henry II. and the whole 
of the reigns of Richard and John, were almost destructive of 
religious lite and character, and the interdict in the reign of 
John had to a great extent taken away even the semblance of 
religion. Probably never has the religious life of England been at 
a lower ebb. Into this desert the Friars came. No wonder that 
their work was effective, or that their growth and influence were 
great. Like others before and after them, they later fell away from 
their earliest principles and practices, but the debt which Europe, 
and especially England, owed to them is incalculable. 

Two of their number were Roger Bacon (12 14-1292), one of 
the most learned philosophers of the Middle Ages, and Adam 
Marsh, a great Oxford scholar and friend of Simon de Montfort. 
Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln (1 175-1253), the ablest and 
best English churchman of the time, was their warm supporter. It 
was not long before the English Franciscans became the most 

1 This is generally known as the eighth and last crusade. 



REIGN OF HENRY III 



ll 3 



learned body in Europe, and not a few were chosen to the highest 
positions in the church. 1 

References. — Green, Short History, chap, iii, §§4-7; chap, iv, §1; 
Gardiner, Student's History, chap, xiii; Terry, History, Part II, chap, viii; 
Tout, Advanced History, Book III, chap, i; Stuhbs, Early Plantagenels, chaps, 
viii-ix; A. Jessop, The Coming of the Friars, etc.; Traill, Social England, 
vol. I, chap, iv; Adams and Stephens, Select Documents, §§30-36; Chey- 
ney, Readings, chap, viii, §v; chap, ix, §§i-v; Colby, Selections, ^§31-32; 
Kendall, Source-Book, §§ 25-27; Lee, Source-Book, chap, xi, § 81. 

Norman and Angevin Kings from Edward I 

Edward I 
1272-1307 
= (1) Eleanor of Castile 
I (2) Margaret of France 



(1) 



(1) 



Edward II 

1307-1327 (deposed) 
= Isabella of France 



Three daughters 



Edward III John 

1327-1377 d. 1336 

= Philippa of Hainault 



Two daughters 



Edmund 

Joan of Kent 

Edward " Black 

Prince " 



E lward " Black Prince " 
(1. 1376 D. 

= (oan of Kent 

"I 
Richard II 

I377- I 399 (deposed) 
= (1) Anne of Bohemia 

(2) Isabella of France 



Lionel 
of Clarence 



I I 

)<>hn Edmund 

of Gaunt D. of York 
). of Lancaster 

I 
Henry IV 
1399-1413 

Henry Y 



Thomas 
of Gloucester 



Richard, Earl of Cambridge 
Richard, D. of York 



1413-1422 
= Katharine of France 



Henry VI Edward IV Richard III 
1422-1461 1461-1483 1483-1485 



Edward V 

d. 1483 
murdered 



Richard, 
D. of York 

d. 1483 
murdered 



1 There were four great orders of Mendicant Friars : (1) the Dominicans, known 
from their black hoods as the Black Friars; (2) the Franciscans, known from their 
gray dress as the Gray Friars; (3) the Carmelites, known from their white dress 
as the White Friars ; and (4) the Augustinian (or Austin) Friars. 



CHAPTER X 

RISE OF THE ENGLISH NATION AND GROWTH OF 
PARLIAMENT i Continued \ 

119. Edward I. 1272. — Edward I, "the greatest of all the 
Plantagenets," was one of the ablest of English kings. He 
had, for the most part, a keen sense of what was practicable, 

and was willing to accept that and wait until he could do more. 
He was a brave warrior, an able general, a keen hunter, a states- 
man, a patron of art, and above all things a lawgiver. He was 
acquainted with Latin and French and probably Spanish. He 
was an Englishman in sympathy and in education. When he was 
a voting man, not a few instances of cruelty were justly laid to his 
charge, and at various times during his reign he acted in a harsh 
and vindictive manner, but as a rule he held his fiery temper under 
perfect control. Far more than most of his predecessors, he had 
a high sense of honor, which was shown by his favorite motto : 
Paction serva, " Keep troth." 

Edward's experience during the latter years of the reign of his 
father, Henry III, taught him much, and his association with the 
great Earl Simon made him familiar with the feelings of the barons 
and also of the people. From Earl Simon he also learned useful 
lessons of statesmanship. He recognized that new legislation 
could not succeed unless it was enacted by the advice and consent 
of those most interested in it. He therefore consulted the barons 
when he wished to modify or change the laws relating to them, 
and the townsmen when he wished to change the laws in which 
they were interested. 

120. Legislation in Reign of Edward I. — Most of the legisla- 
tion credited to Edward was a development of that already in use. 

114 



REIGN OF EDWARD I 



"5 



More important, even, than the legislation was the care he took 

that the justice administered in the courts should be real justice and 

not justice by favor; abuses were remedied, venal judges were 

brought to trial, and those 

found guilty were punished. 

Edward struck also at abuses 

of all kinds, such as unjust 

fines, excessive claims by the 

feudal lords, refusal to allow 

bail, and extortion in any form. 

121. New Statutes. 1275. 
— Edward's prime objects were 
to strengthen and increase the 
royal power, and to extend his 
rule over the whole of Great 
Britain. To accomplish the 
former, it would be necessary 
to restrict the power both of 
the church and of the barons. 
This was, of course, a gradual 

work, and was in a measure accomplished by the enactment of a 
number of statutes, passed as occasion called for, and when it was 
practicable. 

122. Statute of Westminster, 1275 ; of Gloucester, 1278; the 
Nobles. — Some of the most important of the statutes are the 
following: the First Statute of Westminster (1275), by which 
certain abuses were remedied; the Statute of Gloucester (1278), 
which restricted the privileges of the nobles. A commission was 
sent through the country inquiring into the titles by which the 
nobles claimed to hold their property, and the authority by which 
they exercised special powers. Many had very insufficient 
grounds for their claims and were greatly alarmed at this order ; 
others were rebellious. One of the barons, an Earl de Warrenne, 
drew a rusty old sword before the commissioners and said : " This 




Edward I 
After an old painting 



I 1 6 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

is my title. My ancestors came over with William the Con- 
queror and won their lands with the sword, and with the sword 
will I maintain them." 

123. Compulsory Knighthood. 1278.- Edward, too wise to 
pros matters to extremes, did not disturb any claims which 
dated hark to Richard I ; but he did enough to make his power 
felt and to pave the way for further restrictions. Another law 
required every man who owned property amounting to twenty 
pounds a year to assume knighthood or to pay a fine. This had 
two results : first, the expensive ceremonies attending the be- 
stowal of knighthood and the fines of those who declined the 
honor, brought in large sum> of money ; and secondly, those 
who were thus knighted owed no feudal service to an overlord, 
but only to the king himself. They were, therefore, in the event 
of war, likely to support him rather than the barons. 

124. Statutes: Mortmain. 1279; Winchester, 12S5. — An- 
other statute was that known as De Religions} or Mortmain? 
by which it was forbidden to give lands to the church, because 
such land escaped feudal and other duo. 

By another statute, that of Winchester (1285), every man wis 
compelled to do his share in maintaining law and order. Each 
district was made responsible for the crimes committed within it, 
and every citizen was required to aid in bringing criminals to 
justice. It was further commanded that highways leading from one 
market town to another .should be enlarged so that there should 
be "neither dike, tree, nor bush, whereby a man may lurk to 
do hurt, within two hundred foot of the one side and two hun- 
dred foot on the other side of the way." 

125. Statute of Westminster II. 12X5; Entail; Quia Emp- 

1 The statutes were written in Latin and often took their name from the first 
words <>f tin- title <>f the aet. 

- Mortmain, from tie- Latin words in manum mortuum (into a dead hand) ; so 
some think, because the land was given into the hand of the dead patron 
saint of tin- abbey or monastery. As the church was a continuous corporation, 
such land was lost for revenue purposes. 






GROWTH OF PARLIAMENT I I J 

tores, 1290. — The second Statute of Westminster (1285), 
among other provisions, began the system of entailed 1 lands 
which still prevails in England. It was enacted that an estate 
might be so granted to a man and his heirs that the man who 
held it would only be a life tenant and could not part with it 
because it belonged to his heirs. This law was favorable to the 
barons, for it prevented lands from being seized for debt, or from 
being alienated by the misconduct of the owner, and so estates 
could remain in the same family for generation after generation. 2 



W-- '- ' ■ 

Parliament House Westminster HaU Westminster Abbey 

Where Parliament met in the Fourteenth Century 

Another statute was that known as Quia Emptores (1290). 
This was to prevent the tenant of a feudal lord from granting land 
to a sub-tenant and himself taking the place of the feudal lord. 

126. The Jews. — An incident of Edward's reign not so pleas- 
ant to record is his treatment of the Jews. When these first came 
to England is not known/ but it was probably about the time of 
the Norman Conquest. They were then under the special protec- 
tion of the king. They were required to live by themselves in 
quarters of the cities and towns called Jewries. Of course they 

1 Entailed land is land which cannot be sold, but descends, usually, from father 
to eldest son, or if there is no son to the nearest living male relative. 

2 [t is possible, in some cases, to break an entail if the next heir is of age and 
is willing to give up his right of inheritance. But his father, or the owner for the 
time being, must join with him in the action. 



I iS HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

paid the king liberally for their privilege j otherwise, with the feel- 
3 linst them which was universal at that time, they would have 
been driven from the country, if, indeed, they were so fortunate as 
to escape with their lives. 

Then, as now. the Jews were among the great capitalists of the 
world. They were almost the only ones in the Middle Ages who were 
willing to lend money at interest (or usury, as it was then called). 
because, owing to a mistaken reading of certain p fscripture, 

the practice was for a long time discountenanced by the Christian 
church. The kings found the Jewsvery useful in furnishing money, 
and it was for this reason that they were protected. As the power 
of the kings decreased, the position of the Jews became less secure. 
During th< of Henry I and Stephen their condition became 

steadily worse. Richard wrung ims from them for his crusade. 

127. Popular Hatred against the Jews. — Popular feeling be- 
came intensified and the Jewi [ten exposed to pillage. John 
and Henry III, as might be expe< ted, exacted'large sums from the 
rich Jews and taxed them heavily. Edward seems to have shared 
the prejudices of his people, for in i 278 he seized many on the charge 
of clipping the coins, and in London alone two hundred and sixty- 
seven were executed. For financial reasons Edward might have 
permitted them to remain in England ; but so strong was the feeling 
against them that in 1290 they were formally expelled, 1 and for 

1 .V . 10 have been affected by this order. 

r, that this expulsion was not complete, for notices oi the 

presence of Jews in Eng und ir< mi tunc to time. It was Oliver Cromwell 

who tiist, in 1655, publicly sanction •urn. 

The hatred toward them in the M was due to several causes : first, of 

course, because it was the Jews who had caused Pilate to put Christ to death; sec- 
ondly, because of their lending money at high rates of interest. In this latter course 
the Jews were justified, as lenders were few and the risk of losing both principal 
and in- 1 .mis. But the rate was often exorbitantly high, sometimes reach- 

ing sixty per cent. It is easy to see how envy, jealousy, and extortion might follow. 
No crime was considered too heinous for a Jew to commit, and as the law gave 
him no protection, he was absolutely dependent on the king for his defense. De- 
spised by all, goaded by injustice, stung by ribald taunts, conscious of the ever 
present possibility of torture and perhaps a cruel death, it is not to be wondered at 
that some individuals of the race were guilty of evil practices. 



EDWARD AND WALES II9 

about three hundred and fifty years they were not permitted to live 
openly in England. The exiles were allowed to take only their per- 
sonal property ; all their real estate fell into the hands of the king. 
128. Edward and Wales; Statute of Wales, 1283; "Prince 
of Wales," 1301. — Edward recognized that his most important 
interests were in England, although he did not undervalue his con- 
tinental possessions. There was much in Great Britain to claim 
his attention. Wales had submitted to William the Conqueror, 




Carnarvon Castle 

Founded by Edward I in 1283. After a photograph. 

but the submission was formal rather than actual. To protect 
English lands, English kings had given to some of the barons on 
the border almost sovereign powers. These barons of the marches, 
or border lands, frequently rebelled and joined interests with the 
Welsh chieftains. One of these latter, Llewelyn, had aided Earl 
Simon against Henry III, and only after de Montfort was defeated 
did he give his allegiance to Henry. When Edward came to the 
throne, Llewelyn refused to do homage to him, but Edward 
invaded Wales with a strong force and compelled him to give up 
part of his territory and into this ceded land introduced English 
laws and English magistrates. It is not unlikely that these men 
were without skill or tact, for in 1282 a rebellion began under the 
lead of Llewelyn and his brother, David. Edward with a large 
force put it down. Llewelyn was killed in battle, and David, who 
was captured within a year, suffered a traitor's death. 



T2 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

Edward determined to rule Wales as a conquered country. 
By the Statute of Wales (12S3), the country was placed under the 
direct rule of the crown, the land was divided into shires like 
England, and so far as was practicable, and with as little cause for 
irritation as possible, English laws and customs were introduced. 
To strengthen his position, Edward built a line of castles for de- 
fense; among them, Conway. Carnarvon, and Beaumaris. Later, 
to propitiate the Welsh, he gave 1 1301 1 the title Prince of Wales to 
his son Edward, who had been horn in Carnarvon Castle | 1284). ' 

129. Continental Policy ; Scottish Affairs. — Edward more 
than once crossed the channel to maintain his own rights and 
those of his wife. Eleanor of Castile. His policy on the Continent 
was peace, which he was very successful in securing. 

The relations of the S< ot> and the English were (dose; many 
nobles owned land on ln>th sides of the border, and a large num- 
ber of Norman barons had settled in the country near the Forth. 

The Scottish kings, moreover, had intermarried with the English 

royal families ami had held lands in tin- north of England as 
vassals <>( the English king. When Henry II compelled William 
the I. ion, of Scotland, who was his ]iriM>ivr, to do homage for all 
Scotland i?;;), the overlordship of England seemed assured. 

Richard I, however, in return for money had released Scotland 
fri mi William's oath. 

130. Scottish Succession. [286 129a. — Alexander III of 
Scotland died in 1286, leaving as his nearest heir a little girl three 
years old, the child of his daughter, wife of Kric, king of Norway. 
As the S<nN recognized the claim of this little Margaret, known 
as "The M lid <'\ Norway," Edward saw a way to unite peacefully 
the two kingdoms by arranging a marriage between the "Maid" 
ami his son. Unfortunately the little princess died on her way to 
Scotland (1290), and not only was Edward's plan broken up, but 

1 The title is not inherited by the English monarch's eldest son, but is conferred 
upon him, and carries with it no authority whatever. \\ r al< s did not become really 
incorporated with England until the reign of Henry "V" III. 



EDWARD AND SCOTLAND 



121 



the right of succession to the Scottish crown became a matter of 
serious doubt. Of the thirteen claimants for the throne, only three 
had definite ground for their claims. These were descendants of 
David, a younger brother of William the Lion. They were John 
Balliol, Robert Bruce, and John Hastings. 1 

Table of Scottish Kings to Robert I. showing the Claimants in 1290 

Duncan I 
1034- 1040 

I 



Malcom III 

1057-1093 

= (1) Ingeborg 

(2) Margaret, sister of Edgar Atheling 
(1) (2) 

T 



Donald Hank 
1 094- 1 097 

I 

Daughter 
= Sir Robert Comyn 



Duncan Edgar Alex- Matilda Mary David I William 

II 1098-1107 ANDER I = Henry I 1124-1153 

d. 1095 1107-1124 of England = M iUul Richard 



Henry 
d. 1152 
= Ada 



Mai com IV 
1 1 53- 1 165 



William the Lion 
1165-1214 

= Ermen<'ard 



Alexander 11 

= (1) Joanna, dau. John 
of England 
(2) Mary 

I 
(2) 

Alexander in 
1249-1286 
= (1) Margaret, dau. Henry III 
of England 
(2) Iolande 



John, the " Black William 

Comyn " 

= Margaret, sister Earls of 

of John Balliol Buchan 

Ada David John, the " Red Comyn " 

Earl Killed by Robert Bruce,' 1306 
Huntingdon 

Maud 

Margaret = Alan 



Devorguilla Isabella Ada 

=John Balliol = Robert Bruce = Henry Hast- 
1 292-1 296 int, r s 

Robert 

John - Hastings 
ROHERT I, Bruce 
1306-1329 



(1) 

Margaret 
= Eric of Norway 

MARGARET, " Maid of Norway" 
d. 1290 

1 Balliol was the grandson of the eldest daughter, Bruce was the son of the second 
daughter, and Hastings was a grandson of the third daughter. 
- The three chief claimants of the throne in 1290 are in italics. 



122 



HISTORY OF F. V.I.A\I> 



The claimants agreed to refer the matter to Edward for settle- 
ment. After his overlordship was acknowledged by the Scottish 
nobles, he made his decision with wisdom and fairness, awarding 
the kingdom to John Ralliol, who was forthwith crowned at Scone 
( i 292). This award was accepted by the nobles, Balliol paid hom- 
age to Edward as his feudal lord, and for a time there was peace. 

131. Death of Queen Eleanor. 1290. — Edward reached the 
summit of his power after the submission of Balliol. He had 

conquered Wales, quieted and strength- 
ened his continental possessions, and 
established a government strong at home, 
respected and influential abroad. It 
might reasonably have been expected 
that his last years would be spent in 
peace, but they were years of toil and 
trouble. While he was on the way to 
Scotland in 1290, his faithful wife, to 
whom he was devotedly attached, died in 
the north of England. The body was 
taken from Lincoln to Westminster, and 
at each place where it had rested, Ed- 
ward ordered a rich cross to be erected. 1 
About the same time he lost by death 
several of his most trusted and faithful 
counselors and ministers. 

132. England and France. 1293. — Philip IV of France, known 
as Philip the Fair, was always watching for an opportunity to in- 
crease his power. As he was the feudal overlord of Edward's 
continental possessions, it was not difficult to find a pretext for 
making trouble. One soon offered itself in a quarrel which took 
place between Gascon and Norman sailors, ending in a sea fight. 




A Queen Eleanor Cross 



l There were originally seven crosses. The last resting place was Charing, now 
known from Eleanor's cross as Charing Cross. This is the center of modern 
London. 



GROWTH OF PARLIAMENT 



123 



Philip demanded satisfaction for the injury done to his seamen, 
and ordered Edward to appear before him as a vassal. This 
Edward declined to do, whereupon Philip promptly invaded 
Gascony. Unfortunately for the English king, Scotland and Wales 
now grew rebellious. French envoys had brought promises of aid 
and friendship to the Scottish court and had fanned its smoldering 
discontent into a flame. (App. 1, § 93.) 

133. The Famous Parliament of 1295. — Edward resolved to 
appeal to the people of England for support. The idea of an 
organized nation composed of several well-defined classes, each 
with definite rights, and each having the opportunity to express 
its will, was something new. Heretofore, notwithstanding Simon 
de Montfort's great Parliament of 1265, it was not thought neces- 
sary to summon knights or burgesses to attend Parliament, but 
Edward believed that the more national he could make his work, 
the stronger it would be. "It is," he said, "a most just law that 
what concerns all should be approved by all, and that common 
dangers should be met by measures provided in common." To 
the Parliament of 1295 he summoned, therefore, not only the 
barons, but also the clergy in greater numbers than before, be-, 
sides two knights of each shire and two citizens from every city 
or borough ; about four hundred in all. Thus, the three estates 
of the realm, 1 the clergy, the barons, and the commons, or the 
people, were all present by representatives 2 or in person. 

This council, sometimes called the Model Parliament, was un- 
like a modern Parliament, in that it did not make laws, but only 
voted supplies of money. Its importance lies in the fact that all 
classes, except the laborers and the peasants, were brought to- 
gether for a common purpose that they might act for the nation. 

1 " Estates of the realm," the three great divisions of the population of the 
kingdom. 

2 There were present, in fact, two archbishops, eighteen bishops with some of 
their lesser clergy, sixty-six abbots, three heads of religions orders, nine earls, forty- 
one barons, sixty-three knights of the shire, and one hundred and seventy-two 
citizens and burgesses. 



124 HISTORY OF KM '.LAND 

From this time each of the three estates was recognized in sum- 
moning a Parliament. 

The supplies granted enabled Edward to send an army to Gas- 
cony, and, later, one to Scotland. 

134. Edward and the Church. 1296. — Edward did not will- 
ingly come into conflict with the church, but when disagreements 
occurred, he did not abate one jot of his authority. The grants 
made in 1295 were not sufficient, and at a Parliament in 1296 
Edward asked for a contribution from the clergy. The arch- 
bishop refused on the ground that a recent bull 1 of the Pope for- 
bade them to pay taxes to any lay authority. 

The question was essentially the same as that between Henry 
II and Becket (§65). Bdward, however, was shrewder than 
Henry, and met the difficulty in a characteristic way. He with- 
drew from the clergy the support of the law, so that they could 
be treated as aliens ; that is, they would have no rights in the 
courts. They were thus practically outlawed, and anybody could 
plunder them, illtreat them, and even kill them, without fear of 
punishment Moreover, the king declared that if they did not 
yield before a certain time, he would confiscate their lands. That 
he would be as good as his word, every one knew. So the 
clergy yielded, and in various ways, under the name of gifts, or 
through third parties, furnished the king with the money required. 2 

135. General Discontent ; Confirmatio Cartarum. 1297. — Dis- 
content, however, was spreading among all classes. Edward, in 
his need for money, had taxed the merchants heavily, laying 
duties on their goods, and even seizing their stores of wool and 
leather. The nobles felt that he had diminished their authority, 
and the clergy were indignant because they had been denied their 
legal rights. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Winchelsey, now 
came forward as a spokesman, asking Edward not only to confirm 

1 This bull was that known as Clericis Iaicos, and was issued by Boniface VIII 
in 1296. (App. 1, §94.) 

2 The archbishop himself refused to yield, but advised the clergy to act accord- 
ing to their individual judgment. 



REIGN OF EDWARD I 



125 



the Great Charter and other charters, but to add new provisions, 
so as to prevent monarchs from demanding taxes not approved 
by Parliament. This angered Edward, for he felt that what he 
had done was for the good of the whole country, and he thought 
that he should have been supported. He could not make up his 
mind to yield personally, though he saw that he must yield. So he 
started on an expedition to Flanders, leaving his son and coun- 
cilors to consider the matter. 
These found it needful to sum- 
mon a Parliament in order to 
collect taxes, but the Parliament 
refused to consider anything un- 
til the grievances were settled. 
Accordingly, a document con- 
firming the old charters was 
drawn up, and important clauses 
were added which made it clear 
that henceforth taxes and revenue 
were to be under the control of 
Parliament. It made the mon- 
archs of England almost depend- 
ent upon Parliament, for with- 
out money it would be impossible 
to carry on the government or 
pay troops in time of war. This 
document was signed by Edward at Ghent, November 5, 1297. 1 

136. Scottish Affairs ; Fall of Balliol and Conquest of Scotland. 
1 296. — Meanwhile Edward claimed that in Scotland appeals could 
be made from Balliol to him. The Scots felt that to allow this 
would be an infringement of national rights, and their resistance 
took shape in an alliance between France and Scotland which lasted 

1 This document is called the Conftrmatio Cartarum (confirmation of the 
charters). As a matter of fact, it referred rather to general revenues than to royal 
privileges and prerogatives, many of which were retained for nearly four hundred 
years (1688). 




Coronation Chair, Westminster 

Abdiv 

Containing the stone from Scone 



126 HISTORY 01 ENGLAND 

three hundred years. Balliol, summoned to appear in London 
before the English king, sent instead a message of defiance. 
" Has the fool done this fully?" cried King Edward, when the 
message reached him. " If he will not come to us, we will come 
to him." The king's march northward was a triumphant one, for 
the English troops were everywhere successful. Balliol surren- 
dered and was sent to Loudon, where he was confined in the Tower. 
Later, he was allowed to retire to the Continent. The Scottish 
nobles and gentry now swore homage to Edward. He took from 
Scone the famous coronation stone of the Scottish kings and 
brought it to London, where it is still kept in Westminster Abbey 
under the seat of the coronation (hair. 1 

137. Scottish Rebellion under Wallace. 1297—1304. — Ed- 
ward misjudged the Scottish people. His strict rule was disliked, 
the introduction of English priests was unpopular, grants of land 
to English barons became hateful, and the knowledge of being 
ruled by a conqueror intolerable. This was especially the case 
among the I/n\ landers, who were really of English blood, for it 
must be remembered that Scotland was peopled by two races : the 
( raelic, who inhabited the I [ighlands, and the Lowlanders, many of 
whose ancestors had come from England. There were also those 
of Norman blood among them. The resistant e was headed by Sir 
William Wallace, a somewhat mythical character as we know him, 
who had gained the confidence of the people and of the lesser 
nobles by his bold and successful raids on the English. By 1297 
the revolt had become almost general. The Scots were successful 
at Stirling, and for a time Wallace was master of the country. 

Edward lost no time in marching against the rebellious Scots. 
Through treachery he came upon Wallace unexpectedly, forced 
him to join battle at Falkirk (July, 129S), and defeated him. 
Wallace, however, had succeeded in routing a national spirit 

1 Legends assorted that this stone was the one which Jacob used for a pillow on 
his flight from Palestine. According to an old tradition, wherever that stone might 
be, Scottish kings should rule. Long afterwards, this prophecy was said to be ful- 
filled when James VI of Scotland became James I of England. 



EDWARD 1 AND SCOTLAND 



I27 



SCOTLAND 

In the 131 Ii Century 

Scale of English Miles 



pC3^(\, ORKNEY 
Us-^3 ISLANDS 



.V i: T II 




Longitude West 4 fr< 



which was never wholly subdued. The Scots were not yet con- 
quered, and it took Edward six years more to recover his lost 
ground. The surrender of Stirling, in 1304, completed the con- 
quest of the country. 

138. Edward's Scottish Policy; Robert Bruce; Death of 
Edward. 1307. — Wallace, who refused to avail himself of 
Edward's mercy, was betrayed by one of his countrymen, taken 
to London, condemned as a traitor, and executed. His head, 



I 28 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

crowned in mockery with a wreath of laurel, was set upon a pole 
on London Bridge. 

Edward planned an excellent scheme of government for Scot- 
land, but found that it is one thing to make a government for a 
people and quite another thing to make them like it or obey it. 
There is no doubt that he acted with moderation, and, except in 
the case of Wallace, with clemency ; but the Scots wished for 
independence, not merely for justice and law. The representa- 
tive of national feeling at this time was Robert Bruce, grandson 
of one of the claimants of the crown after the death of ''The 
Maid of Norway" (^1301. Brace had yielded to Edward and 
had taken part in his v heme tor the government of Scotland. 
In some way, however, he roused the kind's jealousy ami was 
obliged to take refuge across the border. Early in 1306 he 
quarreled with Balliol's nephew, " Red Comyn," whom he sus- 
P< < ted of treachery, and, in the heat o( his anger, killed him. 
Knowing that King Edward would never forgive sn< h a i\ca\, 
Bruce, almost in self-defense, got himself crowned king of Scot- 
land at Scone. 

Edward, moved to deep anger by the murder of Comyn, vowed 
vengeance on all < oncerned in the deed. Bruce, meanwhile, had 
been attacked by a small force, his disorderly binds were scat- 
tered, ami he himself became a fugitive among the western islands. 
Edward carried out his vow. "Noble after noble was hurried to 
death. The Karl of Athole pleaded kindred with royalty. 'His 
only privilege,' burst forth the king, 'shall be that of being 
hanged on a higher gallows than the rest.' " The old king was 
on a sick bed, but, full of vengeance, he rose to lead his army 
toward Scotland. His strength failed, and on the very borders 
of the country he was striving to reach he died, July 7, 1307. 

139. Edward II, 1307; Gaveston. — Kdward II was the un- 
worthy son of a worthy father. He seems to have regarded little 
but his own pleasure, and to have thought that "to have a good 
time" was the end and aim of life. He was not so much wicked 



REIGN OF EDWARD II 



I29 



as weak and self-indulgent, and the misfortunes which befell him 
were of his own making. A man of his character generally leans 
upon some one stronger than himself, and has favorites. Edward 
II was no exception. The first of his favorites was Piers Gaveston, 
a Gascon noble, the companion of his youth, banished by Edward 
I, but recalled by Edward II on his accession to the throne. 
Gaveston, an unprincipled, scheming man, had a low opinion of 
the English and determined to get all he could out of England. 

After some feeble attempts to carry on the war in Scotland, 
Edward went to France to marry Isabella, daughter of the French 
king, Philip the Fair, leaving Gaveston as regent. The gay courtier 
showed little prudence or tact, but the king on his return heaped 
honors and estates upon him. 

140. Opposition and Protest of the Barons, 1308; Death of 
Gaveston, 13 12. — The English nobles deeply resented the favor 
bestowed on Gaveston, whose reckless and insolent jests at their 
expense had added insult to injury. The leader of the barons, 
Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, was a cousin of the king and the 
wealthiest lord in the realm. He was an unscrupulous man, de- 
void of patriotism and political ability, but his wealth and rank 
gained him his position at the head of the dissatisfied nobles. 
Under the lead of Lancaster, the barons presented their protest 
to Parliament. They complained of the unjust taxes and of 
Edward's extravagance and favoritism. Parliament appointed 
twenty-one " Lords Ordainers " to act for the king, and Edward 
was forced to accept the new arrangement. It closely resembled 
the Provisions of Oxford (§ 109) (1258). All power was in the 
hands of the barons and the king was forbidden to lay taxes, to 
go to war, or even to leave the country without their consent. 
Parliament was to meet at least once a year to consider any such 
requests from the king. The decrees which the " Lords Ordainers " 
issued were called " Ordinances." By these Gaveston was per- 
manently banished, and some special abuses were abolished. 

The barons, however, were shortsighted. In the assembly 



1 30 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



which made these decrees there were do representatives of the 
commons. This fact led to the ultimate overthrow of baronial 
power. By this time it was too late to ignore the Third estate. 
(? 133, note.) 

141. Robert Bruce; Bannockburn, 131 4; Loss of Scotland, 
— Edward's weakness and the internal troubles of England 
Robert Bru< | >, 138) the opportunity he needed 

to establish the independence of Scotland. The strongholds, 
which Edward I had retained, were taken one after another, until 
Stirling alone remained. After being besi< some time, the 

English officer who held it 1 surrender if he was not re- 

lieved by a certain day (June 24, i.;i p- Edward, whose submis- 
sion to the ordinances had gained for him a grant from Parliament, 

drred to action by this news and marched to the relief of the 
besieged « astle. Bruce had drawn up his troops behind the little 
stream known as bannockburn, and had skillfully prepared the 
surrounding fields by digging pits, planting stakes in them, and 
then covering the pits with turf. Into these pits the English 

men plunged and their advance was t ho ked. The English 

army was thrown into confusion, most of the men turned and lied, 

Edward himself setting the example. Stirling surrendered and the 

English power in Scotland for a time was at an end. 

Edward refused to ^\ve up his claims upon Scotland, and it was 
not until 1323, after I'.ruce had made frequent raids, burning 
Scarborough, Skipton, and other places, and penetrating as far as 
York, that the English monarch agreed to a truce for thirteen 
\c.\rs, I'.ruce meantime assuming the title of king. 

142. Lancaster and the Despensers. 1314 1322. — After ban- 
nockburn, Edward was forced to accept as his adviser Lancaster, 
who unfortunately was a selfish, incompetent man so far as ruling 
was concerned. Edward found another personal favorite in Hugh 
le 1 >espenser. Despenser was of a noble English family. His 
father had been councilor to Edward I and was a steady supporter 
of Edward II; he was not, however, liked by the barons. The 



DEPOSITION OF EDWARD II 



131 



two Despensers, father and son, resolved to destroy the influence 
of Lancaster, but he succeeded in getting a decree passed (1321) 
which banished the Despensers and forfeited their estates. Later, 
Lancaster was tried for disloyal dealings with the Scots and for 
fighting against the king, and was condemned and executed. 

143. Parliament of York. — In 1322 Edward held a Parlia- 
ment at York which revoked the "Ordinances" (§140), but 
laid down the important constitutional statement, "all matters 
to be established for the estate of our lord the king and his heirs, 





n 



Stirling Castli 

the realm, and the people, shall be treated, granted, and established 
in Parliament by our lord the king, and by the consent of the 
clergy, earls, and barons, and by the commonalty of the realm." 
Some of the " Ordinances " were reenacted, and it seemed for a 
time as if Edward was about to reform. But his weakness and 
incompetency could not be cured. 

144. Mortimer. Deposition and Death of Edward II. 1327. 
— In 1324 Edward sent Queen Isabella and their young son, 
Edward, whom he had created Duke of Aquitaine, to do homage 
to the new king of France for the French possessions of the Eng- 
lish crown. Here the queen met Roger Mortimer, one of the 
chief nobles of the Welsh marches. With him she plotted not 



I32 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

only to overthrow the Despensers, who had returned, but also to 
depose the king. Isabella landed in Suffolk (September, 1326). 
London and the barons supported her, and Edward found no one 
to help him. He tied to the west ; there the king and the De- 
spensers were captured ; the latter were executed, while the king 
was taken to Kenilworth for safe keeping. 

The young prince, Edward, now about fourteen years old, was 
proclaimed "Guardian of the Kingdom," and a Parliament was 
summoned in his name. This met in January. 1327, and the king 
was forced to abdicate, after signing a declaration of his own mis- 
deeds and incompetent \ " Parliament renounced the homage 
and fealty of its members, and the steward of the household pub- 
licly broke his staff as a token that Edward II had ceased to reign." 
After eight months of imprisonment in various places, the unhappy 
ex-king was confined in Berkeley castle, where he was murdered, 
by whose order or by whom is not positively known. 1 The depo- 
sition of Edward was effecte 1 in orderly fashion through an act 
of Parliament setting forth the doctrine that an unworthy king 
should not rule. There had been no deposition of a king since 
the Norman Conquest, but this established a precedent, and 
strengthened the position oi Parliament. 

References.- Green, . ■ hap. iv, §§ 1-6 ; Gardiner, Student's 

History, chap. \iv ; Terry, History, Part II, chap, ix; I'art III. Book I, chaps. 
i-ii ; Tout, Advanced History, l'.'><>k III, chaps, ii—iii ; Stnbbs, Early Plan- 
tagenels, chaps, x \ii ; Traill. Social England, vol. II, chap, v ; Adams and 
Stephens, Select Documents, §§37-55; Cheyney, Readings, chap, ix, § vi ; 
Colby, Selections, §§ ; v ? ." ; Kendall. Source-Book, §§28-29; Lee, Source- 
Book, chap. \i, §j Si-89. 

1 Whether he was actually murdered is doubted by some. 



CHAPTER XI 

BEGINNING OF THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR AND CLOSE 
OF THE MIDDLE AGES 

145. Edward III, 1327; Independence of Scotland, 1328. 
— Edward III was about fourteen years old when he suc- 
ceeded to the throne, and the affairs of the kingdom were 
administered by a council which was wholly under the control of 
Isabella and her favorite, Roger Mortimer. King Robert Bruce 
(§§ 130, 138, 141), believing that this was a good time to 
strengthen his position, made raids into England which it seemed 
impossible to prevent, as the Scots had no regular army and 
avoided direct conflict. At last a treaty was made with Scotland 
(1328) which recognized the complete independence of that 
country. This treaty, known as the Treaty of Northampton, 
though really a wise act, was very unpopular, and the peace 
obtained by it was considered shameful. Mortimer also managed 
to have Edmund, Earl of Kent, brother of Edward II, executed 
on a charge of treason. Edmund was popular and his execution 
was generally resented. 

146. Fall of Isabella and Mortimer. 1330. —The barons, 
taking it as a warning of what might be their fate at the hands of 
the arrogant favorite of the queen, turned for a leader to the 
young king. Edward had married Philippa of Hainault at the 
early age of fifteen, and now, at seventeen, was a father and 
mature for his years. Isabella and Mortimer, suspecting danger, 
had retired to Nottingham Castle. Indignant at the disregard 
and disdain with which he was treated by his mother and her 
favorite, Edward willingly lent himself to a plot to destroy their 
power. At the head of a band of soldiers he entered the castle 

i33 



134 



III- TORY OF ENGLAND 



by a secret passage, and arrested Mortimer with his own hands. 
The prisoner was taken to London, tried, condemned, and ex- 
ecuted. Isabella was sent to Castle Rising, Yorkshire, where she 
was kept in confinement for the rest of her life, a period of 
twenty-eight y< 

147. Character of Edward III. — Edward was now about 
eighteen years old (1330). He was handsome, accomplished, 
pleasing and chivalrous in his manners, and a patron of the arts. 
He was strung and energetic, and a brave soldier. On the other 
hand, he was extravagant and thriftless, fond of display, and, like 
most nobles of his time, indifferent to the rights of the common 
people. He was, moreover, untrustworthy, for the royal word 
was frequently broken. 

148. Scottish Succession, 1329; Scottish War, 1333. — On 
the death of Robert Bruce, in 1329, the kingdom of Scotland had 
passed to his young son, David, and the government was carried 
on during his childhood by a regency. 1 Certain barons, dissat- 
isfied with conditions in Scotland, resolved to put on the Scottish 
throne Edward Balliol, son of John I'.alliol, the former king 
(•5 130). The attempt was successful and balliol was crowned at 
Scone (1332). fie accepted Edward as his feudal lord, and the 
English king gave his support to the new claimant. The Scottish 
nobles, however, soon rebelled against I'.alliol, and England was 
involved in another war. After varying fortunes, the Scots were 
defeated at Halidon Hill (July 19, 1333), and were forced to 
submit to Edward, giving up to him all their country south of the 
Firth of Forth. Six years later France, roused to jealousy by 
Edward's successes, decided to come to the aid of Scotland in 
accordance with the old treaty of alliance (§ 132). Troops 
were hired for the invasion of England, and Edward's forces were 
all needed on the southern coast. Scotland was now freed from 

1 Regency, a government carried on by a regent, one who governs a country 
m the minoi ity of the kin;; or ruler. There may t><- more 

th. in one regent, 



REIGN OF EDWARD III 



135 



his oversight, and the nobles, driving Balliol from the throne, 
brought back from France, where he had taken refuge, the youthful 
king, David, to be their ruler (1339). This time Edward was 
too busy on the Continent to interfere. 

Scottish Kings from Robert I 

ROBER r I (Bruce) 
1 306- 1 329 
= (1) [sal 
(2) Margaret 

w (__ (1) 

DAVID [1 Margaret = Walter Stewart or Stuart 

1324-1371 I 

Robert II (Stuart) 

1371-139° 
Elizabeth Muir 

I 
Robert HI 

1390-1406 

= Annabella 

I 
[AMES I 

1406-1437 
= Joan 



Margarel Eleanor Elizabeth JAMES II 

= Louis XI = Sigismund Francis 1437-1460 

of Fra ol Tyrol oi Bretagne = Mary 

I I 

I \Mi:s III Mary 

"1460-1488 I lines, Lord Hamilton 
= Margaret oi I lenmark 

I Elizabeth 

I A m is I V = Mathevv Stuart, Earl of Lenox 

1488-1513 I 

= Margaret dau. Henry VII= (2) Archibald, J ' 1 ". EarI of Lenox 

of England Earl of Angus = 

James V | | ] 

1513 1542 Margaret Henry Stuart Charles Stuart 

= (1) Madaleine dau. Lord Darnley 

Francis I of France = Mary, Queen of Scots 

(2) Mary of Guise 
I ' Arabella 

(2) Mary, Queen of Scots d. 1615 

1542-1567, deposed = William, 

= (1) Francis II. of France Lord Beauchamp 

(2) Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley 

(3) James, Fail ofBothwell 

(2) JAMES VI (of Scotland and I of England) 
1567-1^25 1603-1625 



136 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

149. England and France. 1328-1338. — The French king, 
Philip VI, like his predecessors, desired to lessen the power of the 
great vassals of the crown and to bring them and their lands under 
royal sway. While the French kings may have pursued this policy 
from selfish motives, it was one of the leading tendencies of the age, 
and plays an important part in the history of succeeding centuries. 

Philip had shrewdly calculated upon the help that his Scottish alli- 
ance might give, and began a series of aggressions which Edward was 
bound to resist. The French had attacked the English shipping 
and even landed upon the Isle of Wight 1 1330). The English king 
made alliances, so far as he could, with all the governments whose 
dominions bordered on those of France, ami he even succeeded 
in persuading the Emperor of Germany to join him. These alli- 
ances were gained chiefly by the payment of large sums of money. 

150. Edward and the Flemings ; War begun. 1338. — The rela- 
tions of England with Flanders (part of modern Belgium) were 
very close. Taking advantage of business interests and of political 
hatred, Edward arranged a treaty with the Flemish burghers, who 
were eager to cast off their allegiance to the Count of Flanders 
and to maintain peace with the island kingdom which supplied 
their cities with wool for their prosperous industries. 

Edward landed in Flanders in 133S, intending to attack France 
from that side, but he soon found that he could not depend upon 
his allies, for while they were eager to get all the money out of him 
that they could, they would do little fighting. They told him that 
as the king of France was their overlord, they could only fight for 
a king of France. F.dward had. at one time, claimed this title, but 
had given it up in 133 1 . Now he formally reasserted it (1340), 
and declared that he was fighting for his crown. But the real 
reason was that he thought by this claim that he would please the 
Flemings and thereby gain something in his struggle with France. 1 

1 Charles IV of France died (1328) without a son, and was succeeded by his 
nephew, Philip VI. The French naturally preferred Philip, a Frenchman, t<> the 
other claimants, who were foreigners. Isabella, mother of Edward III, however, 
set up a claim to the French crown on behalf of her son, on the ground tint she was a 



THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 



137 




Coat of Arms adopted 
by Edward III 

The French fleurs-de-lis 
quartered with the English 
lions 



151. Beginning of the Hundred Years' War. 1338. — By this 
attack Edward began what is called The Hundred Years' War, a 
war with even less to justify it than most wars have had. On the 
English side, the war was almost wholly 

one of conquest ; on that of the French, 
a struggle against foreign rule. That 
Philip provoked war is evident, and if 
the character of the age can be taken 
into consideration, Edward can hardly 
be blamed for retaliation ; his fault lies 
in the fact that when there was an op- 
portunity to make an honorable peace, 
he declined to embrace it. 

152. England supports Edward ; 
French Defeat at Sluys. 1340. — The 
English Parliament and people supported 
Edward for several reasons : they wished 
to preserve their trade with Flanders ; 

they resented the aid given by France to Scotland ; they were 
angry at the damage done to English shipping, and at the descent 
of the French upon the Isle of Wight. Parliament voted Edward 
supplies after he had promised some reforms. He had come back 
to England to raise funds, but Philip, hoping to prevent his return 
to the continent, gathered a great fleet at Sluys in Flanders. Ed- 
ward, not unprepared, attacked the French fleet (1340). As the 

sister of Charles, and therefore nearer than a nephew. The French asserted that 
under the law, the succession could come only through a male heir. Edward now 
revived this old claim, saying that though his mother might not inherit, he could. 
The claim was not as flimsy in that age as it would be now, but Edward had already, 
on account of his French possessions, done homage to Philip as king of France, 
his overlord, and, moreover, a grandson of Louis X, afterwards Charles the Bad of 
Navarre, had been born since 1328, and his claim according to Edward's own argu- 
ment was better than his. But Edward took the title to please the Flemings and 
added the French fleur-de-lis to his coat of arms, took as his motto Dieu et mon 
Droit (God and my Right), and styled himself king of England and France. The 
lilies of France remained in the arms, and France in the official title, of the English 
monarchs until 1801. The motto is still retained. 



n8 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



vessels drew near one another, the English archers swept the decks 
of the French ships with their arrows and won the day. The 
French fleet was almost annihilated and thousands of men perished. 
So great was the disaster, according to the story, that for a time no 
one dared to report it to the French king. At length, the court 
jester said to him, " What cowards these English are !" and when 
asked why, replied, " Because they dare not leap into the sea as 
our brave Frenchmen did." For thirty years or more after this 
victory, England was supreme at sea and all fear of a French in- 
vasion was dispelled. 

153. Policy of Philip of France. — Edward, for some unex- 
plained reason, did not follow up his victory. He besieged a 
city and spent months in vainly trying to get Philip to agree to 
settle their differences in a fair right, but Philip's policy was to 
avoid an open battle. 1 In this way he tired out his adversary 
and caused him to spend large sums of money in maintaining his 
army. At length Edward was glad to make a truce for nine months 
and return home (1341). Beyond the destruction of the French 
fleet, he had gained nothing, but had rather lost. 

French Kings, Showing Claim of Edward III 

LOUIS 1 X, " Saint Louis" 

I'iiii ip III 
1 270- 1 285 



PHILIP IV, the Fair 

1285-1314 



Margai el 
= Edward I 
of England 



Charles, Count of Valois 



Philip vi 

Louis x Isabella Philip V Charles IV 1328-1350 
1314-1316 = Edward II 1316-1322 1322-1328 

o( Kngland 
John I 
b. andd. 1316 Edward III 
ni England 

1 It was much easier to do this in that age than now, for the strength of a coun- 
try lay in its fortified towns. Many of these it was almost impossible to take ex- 
cept after a long siege in which hunger was the chief weapon. If a king did not 
wish to fight, he simply kept his forces in the castles or fortified cities and let his 
enemy ravage the land. 



ENGLISH VICTORIES 



139 



154. The Breton Succession ; Renewal of French War ; Crecy, 
1346. — The Duke of Brittany had died leaving no direct male 
heir, and according to Breton law the daughter inherited ; but with 
absolute inconsistency, Edward sup- 
ported the indirect male claim- 
ant. His reason, doubtless, was that 
Brittany would be a good place from 
which to attack France. Accord- 
ingly, in 1346, he took a large army 
into France by way of Brittany. 
Philip pursued his old policy of 
avoiding an open battle. After rav- 
aging Normandy, Edward marched 
in the direction of Paris. At last 
Philip, having a much larger army, 
attacked him at Crecy. Here Ed- 
ward, who had chosen his position 
skillfully, gained one of the greatest 
victories in English history (August 
26, 1346). 

"It was a victory of foot-soldiers over horse-soldiers, of a 
nation in which all ranks joined heartily together, over one in 
which all ranks, except that of the gentry, were despised." It 
was chiefly to the archers that the success was due. The battle 
was a death blow to the strictly feudal idea that the knight was all 
in all. 

It was at this battle that Edward's son, afterwards known as 
the " Black Prince," won his spurs and was knighted, though 
only about sixteen years old. 1 

155. Capture of Calais. 1347. — Edward had punished Nor- 
mandy ; it was now the turn of Calais. He found it necessary to 
besiege the city, which, after holding out for nearly a year, at last 

1 So called, probably, from the color of his armor. The armor of the Black 
Prince still hangs in Canterbury Cathedral. 




English Archer 



140 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



surrendered on account of lack of food (August 4, 1347). At the 
intercession, it is said, of Queen Philippa, Edward treated the 
inhabitants with reasonable clemency. Those who took the oath 
of allegiance to him were allowed to remain, the others were 
expelled. English colonists were brought over, the walls were 
repaired, a strong garrison was stationed there, and a market for 
wool, tin, lead, etc., was established. Calais became a prosperous 
city, remaining in the hands of the English for two hundred and 
ten years (§ 281 I. Soon after the surrender of Calais, a truce for 
six years was arranged. 1 

The Scots, who had practically regained their independence, 
took advantage of Edward's absence to invade England ; but 
they were badly defeated at NevU's Cross (October 17, 1346), 
and their king, David Bruce, was taken prisoner. 

156. Advent of Luxury ; Chivalry. — Edward was received by 
the English with enthusiasm. The spoils of war were rich, and 
reckless extravagance, especially among the upper classes, pre- 
vailed.- Tournaments, shows, celebrations of various kinds, were 
frequent ; and the effect of foreign influences was seen in domestic 
and church architecture, as well as in household living. 

One of the influential institutions of the age was what is known 
as ( 'hivalrv. The word is hard to define, but chivalry itself may be 
described as a code of rules based upon certain ideals of conduct, 
as, that every knight should be courageous ; devoted to his lord ; 
respectful to ladies and eager to serve them ; that he should be 
generous, loyal, and true, and strive to render justice. Nominally 
high in its ideals, its rules applied only to persons having the 
rank of a knight or a higher rank ; it set forth fighting as the 
noblest occupation that a man could follow, but too often under 

1 It was at the siege of Calais that cannon were used for the first time. They 
appear to have been of little value owing to tlu-ir faulty construction and the gun- 
ners' ignorance of how to use them. It has been said that they were first em- 
ployed at Crecy, but this seems to be an error. 

- It was at this time (1348) that Edward established the well-known order of the 
Garter by decorating a selected band of his knights with a blue garter. 



ECONOMIC CHANGES 



I 4 I 



color of chivalry men were brutal and immoral. On the other 
hand, it can be hardly questioned that, where the rules were 
applicable, life was somewhat less coarse, woman was held in 
higher esteem, and courtesy and consideration were more com- 
mon than they would otherwise have been. 1 Perhaps its worst 
fault, if no stronger word be used, was the utter disregard of the 
rights of those outside its pale ; for in the view of the knight the 
common people had no rights. 

157. The Black Death. 1349- — In the midst of the rejoicing 
and the luxurious living in England came a devastating pestilence 
known as the Black Death. Like most similar visitations, it ap- 
pears to have started in Asia and moved gradually westward. In 
the early part of 1348 it was in central France, and by August it 
made its appearance in England. So far as is known, it was the 
most destructive of all pestilences. 2 It is estimated that, before it 
ran its course, about half the population of England perished. 3 

Though great economic changes would have come about in any 
case, this terrible disaster had of necessity important effects 
upon the social and economic life of England. The plague had 
fallen most heavily upon the working classes, on account of the 
unsanitary conditions of their home surroundings. The supply of 
agricultural laborers decreased at least one half and wages rose. 
By this time rents and wages were generally paid in money. There 
were, however, many who were still under the old feudal laws, and 
these were unable to demand an increase in wages as the others 
could. They therefore refused to work for their lords. The land- 

1 Tennyson's poem " Sir Galahad " is the picture of an ideal knight of the most 
lofty character. 

2 Some authorities believe that the Black Death was what is now known as the 
bubonic plague. 

3 Augustus Jessopp tells us that the records show that in one Norfolk Manor 
Court five law cases in 1349 were adjourned from the 20th of March to the 23d of 
April. When the cases were called, out of the sixteen persons concerned, princi- 
pals and witnesses, eleven were dead of the plague. In a single year upwards of 
eight hundred parishes of Norfolk and Suffolk lost their parsons, eighty-three of 
them twice, and ten three times. 



I42 HISTORY OK ENGLAND 

lords, owing to scarcity of help, were often obliged to accede to 
the demands of the laborers. In this trouble they appealed to the 
king, who issued an ordinance requiring laborers to work for the 
same wages that were paid before the Black Death. Those who 
refused to comply were to be imprisoned, and the landlords or 
masters who offered to pay higher wages were to forfeit twice the 
amount paid. 

158. Statute of Laborers. 1351. — When Parliament met 
(1351 1 it passed the first Statute of Laborers, practically confirm- 
ing what the king had already ordered. It is not surprising that 
some such law was enacted, for the working classes were wholly 
unrepresented in Parliament and w» rally held to exist 
chiefly for the benefit of the upper classes. This legislation did 
not indicate any special feeling against the lower classes, for the 
landlords were simply trying to preserve that which they had been 

it up to consider as their right, and which generations of 
laborers had never thought of contesting. 

It was found impossible to enforce the Statute of Laborers, for the 
landholders themselves preferred to pay high wages and even fines 
rather than lose their crops altogether. But these laws caused hard 
feeling between the classes and ultimately led to rebellion (1381). 

159. Poitiers. 1356. — Philip of France died in 1350, and 

I by his son John. In 1355 the war with France 
was renewed. The Black Prince landed in Bordeaux and b 
a campaign which was little better than a pillaging expedition. 
While he was on his way back to bordeaux, he was met near 
Poitiers by King John with a force about four times as large as 
his own. John, sure that he had the English in his power, de- 
manded severe terms of surrender. The black Prince could not 
accept them, and resolved to fight. As at Crecy ( £ 154) the 
English chose a strong position and stationed their troops skill- 
fully, again trusting mainly to the archers. In the battle which 
followed, the French were defeated with heavy losses, and King 
John and his younger son with hundreds of knights were taken 



TREATY OF BRETIGNY 



143 



prisoners. A truce was made for two years and the Black Prince 
returned to England with his captives. Meanwhile peace was 
made with Scotland and David Bruce was released on the promise 
of paying a large sum of money. 

160. France in 1359. Treaty of Bretigny. 1360. — Edward 
offered to make peace with France, but his terms were too hard 
for the Dauphin, the king's son and regent, to accept. Edward 
accordingly again invaded France in 1359. He found the country 
in a sad state, peasants in revolt, and nobles oppressing the peas- 
ants in order to obtain funds to redeem their relatives held in cap- 
tivity. The Italian poet, Petrarch, who visited France about this 
time, says, " I could not believe that this was the same kingdom 
which I had seen so rich and flourishing. Nothing presented 
itself to my eyes but a fearful solitude, an extreme poverty, land 
uncultivated, houses in ruins, even the neighborhood of Paris 
manifested everywhere marks of destruction and conflagration. 
The streets were deserted; the roads overgrown with weeds; the 
whole is a vast solitude." 

Finally, in 1360, the Treaty of Bretigny was made, by which 
Edward, giving up his claims to the French crown and to the 
lands north of Aquitaine, was to receive all Aquitaine and the dis- 
tricts around Calais and Ponthieu, these to be held absolutely and 
with no feudal obligations. King John died a captive. 

References. — Green, Short History, chap, v, § I ; Gardiner, Studenfs 
History, chap, xv ; Terry, History, Part III, Book I, chap, iii ; Tout, Advanced 
History, Book III, chap, iv, § 1-1S ; A. Jessopp, Coming of the Friars, etc., 
Essay iv ; Traill, Social England, vol. II, chap, vi, in part ; Adams and 
Stephens, Select Documents, §§ 55-76 ; Cheyney, Readings, chap, x, §§ i-iv ; 
Colby, Selections, §§ 38-40 ; Kendall, Source-Book, §§ 28-33 ; Lee, Source- 
Book, chap, xi, §§ 90-93, chap. xii. 



CHAPTER XII 

HUNDRED YEARS' WAR (Continued*; SOCIAL AND 
ECONOMIC CHANGES IN ENGLAND 

161. English Failure in France. 1368—1375. — It was impos- 
sible f>r the Treaty of P.retigny to be a permanent settlement, for 
Aquitaine was French and would not rest quietly under English 

rule. 

Edward, the Black Prince, was mule Duke of Aquitaine and 
sent to rule the country. His rule was far from wise ; he suffered 
himself to he entangled in Spanish affairs ; and he aided with 
the wicked l'e<lro the Cruel who had been driven from the 
Spanish throne. Though successful at first, the campaign ended 
disastrously. Edward, with but a fifth of his army, returned to 
bordeaux, broken in health and owing large sums of money for 
which Pedro had failed to reimburse him. To get funds he laid 
a hearth tax' on the Gascons; but they refused to pay it and 
appealed to the king of France, as their liege lord, for redress. 
Although such an appeal was contrary to the provisions of the 
Treaty of Bre'tigny 1? 160), which expressly gave Aquitaine and 
the other provin< e to Edward free of feudal obligations, Charles V 
( i 1 1.0, note) summoned the Black Prince to appear before him 

at 1'aris. 

The Prince replied, ''We will go to the court of Paris, since 
the king orders it ; but it shall be with helmet on head and sixty 
thousand men behind us." The war now broke out again. 
Charles the Fifth was a wiser man than his father, and he had 
able generals, perhaps the best of whom was Bernard Du Cuesclin. 
Their policy was the old one of avoiding battle, and of letting the 

1 A hearth tax was a tax upon every fireplace, and so fell upon rich and poor 
alike. It was always an unpopular way of raising revenue. 

144 



ENGLISH POSSESSIONS IN FRANCE 



145 




146 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

English use up their strength by marching hither and thither 
through the country. Though hard on the French people, it was 
wise from a military point of view. In the course of the cam- 
paign, the Black Prince recaptured Limoges, since so celebrated 
f<»r its manufacture of china, and in revenge ordered more than 
three thousand of its inhabitants, men. women, and children, to 
be butchered ; so little did chivalry, in that day, count fox those 

who according to its code were not gentlefolk. 

The Black Prime was now forced to return to England on 

int of his failing health. The war was continued under the 

command of John of < taunt (Ghenl 1 a younger son of I'd ward III. 

The English were unsuccessful everywhere, and in 1375, when a 

. only Calais', Cherbourg, Bayonne, Brest, and 

Bordeaux were left in English hai 

162. Last Years of Edward III. —The last years of the reign 
[ward III were years of trouble, if not of disgrace. The 

Queen Philippa had died and the king came under the 
influence of a certain Alice Perrers, who wheedled the pi 

turely old man into doing just what she and her favorites wished. 

The Blai k Print e was ill of an incurable disease, which prevented 
him from taking part in public affairs, and the younger son of 
Edward, John of Gaunt, Duk< of I in< aster, was a selfish, unprin- 
cipled man u to the old narrow policy of the barons. 

The wars in France and the extravagance of the court had so 
exhausted the treasury and the ordinary means of raising money 
that it was found necessary to call a Parliament in 1376. This is 
known as the " 1 1 ■ I Parliament" The Black Prince, now on 
a sic k bed, supported as tax as possible this body, which took 
unexpei tedly strong measures of reform. They elected a Speaker 
to represent them, and impeached two members of the royal 
council together with Alice Perrers. 1 

163. The 'Good Parliament." (1376), Death of Edward III, 
•377- — Unfortunately the lllack Prince died, and the Parliament 

1 This is the first case of impeachment by Parliament (1376). 



GROWTH OF PARLIAMENT 



147 



then in session, fearing the power of John of Gaunt, begged the 
king to recognize Richard, the little son of the Black Prince, as 
heir to the crown. The Commons insisted on having Richard 
brought before them (1376), "that they might see and honor 
him as the very heir apparent." The "Good Parliament" ad- 
journed, having done a good work, but hardly had the members 
reached their homes, before John of Gaunt took the reins again, 





MifflMj 







5 



\ 



Tomb op raj Black Prince in Canterbury Cathedral 

recalled Alice Perrers, arrested the Speaker of the late Parliament, 

and did all he could to nullify its reforms. A new Parliament 
was called which, so far as it could, reversed the work of its pred- 
ecessor. In 1377 Edward III died, after a reign of fifty-one 
years. He had long outlived his usefulness and at the time of his 
death was practically imbecile. His good fortune in following 
such a weak man as Edward II, with his military successes in the 
earlier years of his reign, and a certain amount of personal dig- 
nity, have given him an unduly high rank in history. 

164. Growth of Parliament. — -The real interest of Edward's 
reign lies, not in the brilliant victories of Crecy (§ 154) and 
Poitiers (§ 159), or in the successes in Scotland, but in the 



I 4S 11 ISP >RY OF ENGLAND 

growth and development of the national feeling as shown in the 
political, literary, religious, and social conditions of England. 
The most important political feature is the incrca.se in the power 
of Parliament. Practically annual sessions were held throughout 
the reign. The knights of the shire sat beside the representatives 
of the towns and greatly aided in establishing the dignity and 
importance of the Commons. The feeling of distrust 

toward the king made Parliament watchful of legislation, and 
helped to establish precedents that were very useful. The power 

of the Commons became greater, and, in time, the consent t^l~ 

both houses W iry for legislation. As Edward's needs 

i him to yield more and more, it came about that, by the 

end of his reign, no money could he raised by taxation e* ept 

with the consent of Parliament Furthermore, the royal ministers 

and offi< ers were held responsible to Parliament and could he im- 
peached for misconduct. These wer< institutional gains. 

165. The English Language. — Another striking feature of 
Edward's reign is the growth in the use of the English language. 
The Norman influence had been so strong that Edward himself 
never learned to sprak English fluently, and French was still the 
language of the court 1 Latin was the language- of the c hurch and 
the universities, and French that of the law courts. By 1362 the 
proceedings in the law courts were ordered to be carried on in 
English ; the dislike felt toward the French on account of the 
Hundred years' War greatly decreased the u>e of the French 
tongue, and English began to be generally used for all purposes. 
Scarcely any attempt had been made to reproduce English 
speech in literary form, and the writings of l.angland and Chaucer 
(>J 167) were at once a result and a cause of the greater use of 
the English language. 

166. England and the Papacy. — But not only in political and 
literary matters was the reign of Edward III an epoch. Some of 
the social movements have already been noticed (§ 156), to these 

1 It is not likely that Edward I understood English. 



CHANGES DURING REIGN OE EDWARD III 



149 



must be added a great religious movement as well, though, as was 
the case with the social movements, the most important features 
belong to the next reign. 

The Popes of Rome had, since 1309, resided at Avignon on the 
borders of eastern France. As they were under French influence, 
the English, already more than restive under the requirements of 
the church, became more and more averse to contributing to the 
expenses of the papal court. The intervention of the Pope in 
English ecclesiastical matters was, moreover, increasingly disliked, 
not so much because he was the Pope as because he was a for- 
eigner. For a long time the bishops, abbots, and various members 
of the clergy had been appointed by persons who were granted 
the privilege by the Pope. This privilege was called the " right 
of provision." In 1351 Parliament passed the first Statute of Pro- 
visors, which made all persons receiving such " provisions " liable 
to imprisonment, and forfeited the office itself to the crown. The 
first Statute of Praemunire, passed in 1353, forbade any appeal to 
foreign courts, and punished with forfeiture and imprisonment any 
who should appeal. 

The abuses, moreover, which had crept into the church were too 
evident to be denied. Hut the opposition to the churchmen was 
not wholly on account of their worldliness ; many envied them their 
power, for they frequently held political as well as clerical positions. 
"In the Parliament of 137 1, bishops were declared unfit to hold 
offices of state." Among those who were thus deprived of politi- 
cal office was the great William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, 
"who used his wealth to found (1379) at Winchester the first great 
public school in England," now known as Winchester College. 

167. Langland and Chaucer. — That the opposition was not 
against the church, but against unfaithful churchmen, and that 
there was a real desire in England for a better life, is clearly shown 
by the writings of William Langland. His poem, "The Vision of 
Piers Plowman," first appeared in 1362. It is a satire, in the form 
of a vision, in which the narrator sees the selfishness of those in 



I^O HISTI >RY OF ENGLAND 

power, and especially the evil practices of those who hold offices 
in the church. His idea is not destruction, but reform. His 
sympathies arc wholly with the common people, though he recog- 
nizes the need of all classes to make up an ideal community, a 
community in which justice and right shall rule. His great con- 
temporary, Chaucer, on the contrary, is rather the poet of the 
upper (lasses. He is neither a reformer nor a moralist, lie 
pictures life as he sees it, and the portraits which he draws are 
unsurpassed for vividness and truthfulness. He is unmistakably 
ern in his point of view and belongs to the period that we are 
itemed to call the Renaissance (§ 223). He seems to have 
almost equal pleasure in depicting the "poor parson of die town" 
whose life was an ideal one, and the wanton "wife of Path." 
Still it must he said that Chaucer never makes vice attractive ; he 
simply portrays life as it exists and leaves the reader to draw the 
moral lesson. 

168. Ireland, i 367 1377. — The English kings had not been 
ssful in firmly establishing their rule in Ireland. Tin- Irish 
were a collection of trihes varying in their customs and laws and 
in the degree of their civilization. Banding together at one time 
against a < ommon foe, they would at another be at enmity among 
themselves. The English power at no period extended mm h 
beyond the neighborhood of Dublin. The war with France took 
so much of the attention of the English that Ireland was practi- 
cally neglected, but after the Treaty of Br£tigny ( s' 160) it was 
felt that the English interests in that island should be preserved 
and extended. After about six years of effort, attended with but 
little success, a Parliament of the English colonists was called in 
1367. This body passed what is known as the Statute of Kil- 
kennv, to define the relations which should exist between the 
English residents and the native Irish. A line was fixed, though 
ii was changed afterwards from time to time, within which English 
customs and laws were to prevail. Englishmen living within the 
Pale (>ee map of Ireland, page 219), as it was called, were forbid- 



RICHARD II I5I 

den to use the Irish language, to marry Irish wives, or to adopt 
Irish customs and laws, and equally strict regulations were made 
regarding the Irish living within the Pale. The legislators seemed 
to have thought it was better to be actual rulers over a little, than 
nominal ones over much. 

It was found impossible to enforce the statute. There was 
rebellion among the English settlers, and incursions on the part of 
the Irish were frequent ; while the war with France, which had 
broken out at this time, made it impracticable for the English to 
do much in the way of organizing a strong government. 

169. Richard II ; Taxes. 1377- — Richard II was about eleven 
years old when he came to the throne. There was no opposition 
to his succession, and a council was appointed to govern the 
country until he should come of age. This included members of 
the opposing factions, but the king's uncles, including the Duke 
of Lancaster, were excluded, though this fact did not much in- 
terfere with the latter's influence with the government. 

The war with France continued, the French pillaged the south- 
ern coasts of England, the English armies in France were unsuc- 
cessful, and expenses were heavy. Parliament, it is true, had 
granted large sums, but had limited the expenditure more strictly 
than had been attempted before. Taxes did not bring in so large 
an amount as had been anticipated, and other taxes were levied, 
among them a poll tax 1 (1379, 1380). This tax, laid on every 
one over twelve years old, was one which could not easily be 
evaded and was levied on rich and poor alike, and of course was 
relatively much higher for the poor than for the rich. Its im- 
position at once aroused class feeling. 

170. Peasants' Revolt. 1381. — The Black Death, as we 
have seen (§ 157), exercised no small influence upon wages 
and upon the condition of the laborers, but there were also large 
numbers of villeins (small farmers) who had good reason for dis- 
content. Two burdens were especially grievous : (1) the villein 

1 Parliament had laid a small poll tax (a tax on persons) in 1377. 



^ 



HIST >RY 01 ENGLAND 



could not plead in court against his lord, and so had no legal 
means of redress against injustice at the hands of him with whom 
he had most to do; (2) he could not legally sell the land he 
occupied, or leave the farm, without permission from his lord. 

The legislation which had attempted to regulate labor had 
failed, owing to natural causes; but it had stirred up a strong 
class feeling which needed very little to rouse it into action. 
These taxes were the match that lighted the fire. The revolt be- 
gan in Essex (May, 138] I, and before a month had passed, it had 
spread through the southern counties of England. Manor houses 
were burnt, legal records destroyed, landlords, law officers, and 
others murdered, and scenes of violence enacted far and near. 
Before the middle of June, a large band of Kentish rebels ap- 
proached London and encamped on 111 u kheath, about five miles 
from London bridge. 

John Ball, a popular preacher, and Walter Tyler, commonly 
known as Wat Tyler, were among the leaders. John Ball, the 
principal agitator, was a religious zealot who had been traveling 
around the country for twenty years or more preaching his doc- 
trine of equality lor all men. He attacked church and state 
alike, for he believed that all existing institutions were wrong. 
All things, he said, should be in common, and there should be 
neither lord nor vassal. "Are we not," he would say. "all de- 
scended from Adam and Eve ?" This caught the popular ear, 
and the great burden of the day became : 

•' When \<lam delved and Eve span 
Who was then a gentleman? " ' 

171. Attack upon London. 1381. — The mob was swelled by 
recruits from other counties, and on the 13th of June 2 London 

1 John Ball had been imprisoned at Maidstone, Kent, for his attacks on the 
church, but had been released by the rebels a few days before, and had joined the 
mob in front of London. He delivered a sermon before the great gathering, taking 
for his text, it is said, the couplet quoted above. 

2 It is thought that the mob at this time numbered 100,000 men. 



THE PEASANTS' REVOLT 



153 



opened its gates. Fortunately for himself, John of Gaunt, who 
was the special object of hatred by the rebels, was absent in the 
north of England, but they burned his splendid palace of the 
Savoy, together with the Temple and Inns of Court, the abode of 
the lawyers, against whom they felt a strong grudge. The king 
and his followers took refuge in the Tower. Around this strong- 
hold the mob howled, crying for the blood of their enemies. At 



.Meadow 




last the assailants agreed to retire to Mile End, if the king would 
meet them there on the next day and listen to their grievances. 
This he readily promised to do, and was as good as his word, for, 
the next morning, accompanied by only a small retinue, he rode 
to the place. He heard their complaints, agreed to their de- 
mands, and promised them charters which would carry out their 
wishes. "You shall never again," he is reported to have said, 
" be named or held for serfs." 1 

While the conference was going on at Mile End, the insurgents 

1 Among the demands were: that all customary services (feudal) should be 
abolished ; that the rent for land should be fourpence per acre ; and that trading 
in fairs and markets should be open and free to all. At that period, almost all 
buying and selling in the country was carried on at fairs and markets held peri- 
odically, and tolls were levied on every bridge and roadway to the fair, and 
brought in a large revenue. At Winchester when the fair was held nothing but 
food was allowed to be sold in the city. 



154 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

who had remained in London broke into the Tower and murdered 
Archbishop Sudbury, Hales, the Treasurer, and Legge, the col- 
lector of the poll tax, besides others. 

172. Richard pacifies the Rioters. 1381. — Richard met the 
rioters, with Wat Tyler at their head, the next day at Smithfield. 
Here Tyler was struck down by the Lord Mayor and was dis- 
patched by the king's attendants. Instantly the crowd was in an 
uproar, shouting, " Kill ! Kill ! They have slain our captain ! " 
Richard, with a boldness ami courage hardly to be expected, 
rode among the mob, crying: "What need you, my masters? 
I am your captain and your king! Follow me!" The mob 
was pacified, and then, overawed by the royal troops who 
soon came up, retired peaceably after receiving promises of 
redress. Thus ended the first stage in the peasant revolt of 
1381. It was the first great struggle in England between labor 
and capital. 

173. Results of Peasants' Revolt. 1381. — The nobles and 
wealthier classes soon recovered from their surprise and the insur- 
rections were rigidly put down. When Parliament met, it revoked 
the charters granted by the king, on the ground that he was too 
young to be responsible for them. The ringleaders in the revolts 
were treated without mercy, and, to outward appearance, the 
laborers had gained little or nothing ; in fact, for a time, their 
cause seemed lost. One effect of the uprising was that the 
wealthier (lasses found themselves striving together against 
those whom they now regarded as a common enemy. Natural 
causes, however, worked for the benefit of the laboring classes. 
Lmployers soon discovered that it was for their own advantage 
to have contented workmen, and therefore allowed privileges 
which, in the course of years, helped to put an end to villeinage 
itself. 

174. Religious Conditions. — There was need of reform in 
religious as well as in social and political matters. While there 
were many self-sacrificing and truly pious men among the clergy, 



WYCLIFFE 



I 55 



such as described by Chaucer, 1 there can be no doubt that, during 
the latter part of the fourteenth and the earlier part of the fifteenth 
centuries, the spiritual state of the church was exceedingly low. 
Simony, 2 luxury and worldliness were common. The people dis- 
trusted priests and looked upon them as enemies. The influence 
of the clergy for good was 
also severely injured by an 
unfortunate division in the 
church itself, known as the 
Great Schism, which lasted 
thirty-eight years and which 
brought reproach upon the 
church and injury to true 
Christianity. (App. i, 

§96.) 

175. Wycliffe. — One of 
the most remarkable men 
of the fourteenth century 
was John Wycliffe, often 
called the " Morning Star 
of the Reformation." 3 In 
him scholastic 4 learning and John Wycliffe 

modern ideas were curi- Afte r an old print 

1 A bettre preest, I trovve that nowher noon is. 
He wayted after no pompe and reverence, 
Ne maked him a spyced conscience, 
But Christes lore, and his apostles twelve, 
He taughte, and first he folwed it himselve. 

— Prologue, Canterbury Tales. Skeat's Chaucer. 

2 "Simony is the act or practice of trafficking in sacred things; particularly, 
the buying or selling of ecclesiastical preferment." 

3 He was born in Yorkshire about 1320 and was educated at Oxford. He be- 
came Master of Balliol College about 1370. He was sent as an ambassador to 
Bruges in 1374 to negotiate regarding papal and royal claims to grant benefices. 
On his return he was presented with the royal living of Lutterworth, not far from 
Oxford. Here he died in 1384. His name is variously spelled : Wycliffe, Wyclif, 
Wickliffe, Wicklif, Wiclif. 

4 Scholastic, a term used to describe a needlessly minute division of a subject ; a 
method much used in the Middle Ages. 




156 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

ously combined. His character was pure, and he seems to have 
had an attractive personality. He had early denied the claims 
of the Popes to draw funds from England. His great doctrine 
was that all possessions were held directly from God, and that 
failure to obey God forfeited one's right to these worldly posses- 
sions. This implied the teaching that kings held their realms by 
divine right." It may have been this latter doctrine which ex- 
plains how it was that John of daunt supported Wycliffe, and how 
it was that Wycliffe became a follower of John of Gaunt ; though 
it is difficult to understand how a man like Wycliffe could have 
identified himself with the cause of Lain aster. 

176. Teachings of Wycliffe; His English Bible. 1378. — 
Wycliffe believed that the abuses in the church were largely due 
to the connection between the church and the state, and therefore 
urged the clergy to confine themselves to spiritual duties and 
leave secular matters alone. He attacked the Friars, who had, in 
the course of years, lost much of their original simplicity, and 
who, though individually poor, belonged to rich and powerful 
orders. He believed in poverty, though not in asceticism, and he 
urged the priests to a life of active benevolence. He encouraged, 
if he did not himself organize, bands of preachers who went about 
the country preaching in the English language and addressing 
themselves especially to the lower classes. These men were called 
" poor priests." They lived upon frugal fare, and by their sim- 
plicity and earnestness did a vast amount of good. 

Wycliffe, moreover, attacked church doctrines which had been 
generally accepted. He laid great stress on the Bible as the 
ground of faith, and, probably with the help of some of his friends, 
translated it into English. 1 Heretofore the Latin Bible had been 

1 Parts of the Bible had already been translated into English and into French, 
but these manuscripts were rare. Copies of the whole volume and of parts were 
now made especially for circulation among the people. The fact that there are still 
in existence over one hundred and fifty copies more or less complete indicates that 
a large number must have been in circulation. The translation was made from the 
Latin version known as the Vulgate, and not from the Hebrew and Greek texts, as 
were Tyndal's and King James's versions, and the Revised Version of 1881-1S85. 



LOLLARDRY 157 

the only one available for ordinary use, and Latin was an unknown 
language to the mass of the people. Wycliffe's translation was 
executed about 1378, and, considering the great expense of pro- 
ducing manuscripts, it had a large circulation. His teaching and 
that of his " poor priests " met a popular need, and the effect of 
the movement was correspondingly great. Indeed, it was said at 
one time that every other man one met was a Lollard, 1 as a fol- 
lower of Wycliffe was called. 

177. Wycliffe's Teaching in Bohemia. — The movement re- 
ceived much support from Richard's wife, Anne of Bohemia, who 
embraced Wycliffe's views. When, upon her early death (1394), 
her followers returned to Bohemia, they carried with them 
Wycliffe's doctrines and books. These were one of the sources 
of the great movement of John Hus in the next century (App. 
1, § 98). Wycliffe died in 1384. At the Council of Constance 
(1414-1428) (App. 1, § 97) at which John Hus was con- 
demned to be burned at the stake, a decree was passed de- 
nouncing Wycliffe's teaching, and ordering that his bones should 
be exhumed and burned and cast into a stream. This was done, 
and the old church historian, Fuller, thus speaks of it : " This 
brook did convey his ashes into the Severn, Severn into the nar- 
row sea, and that into the wide ocean. And so the ashes of 
Wycliffe are the emblem of his doctrine, which is now dispersed 
all the world over." 

178. Suppression of Lollardry. — Though the Lollards were 
not accused of taking part in the Peasants' Revolt, it was natural 
that the effort to put down the social uprising should suggest the 
suppression of the Lollards. As a result Lollardry became almost 
confined to the lower classes and the tradesmen and mechanics of 
the towns. Owing to the severity of the laws against heresy 2 the 
Lollards kept very quiet, but they were far from being crushed 

1 The origin of the name given to Wycliffe's followers is uncertain. It seems to 
have come from Germany, where it was applied to those who " mumbled " church 
music. Others think it means " babblers," and others " heretics." 

- For the medieval feeling in regard to heresy see App. I, § 76. 



158 HIS K IRY OF ENGLAND 

out. During the reign of Henry YII (1485-1509) the increasing 
number of men burnt for Lollardry indicates the prevalence of 
its teachings, and there can be no question that Lollardry was ;i 
powerful though quiet influence until the middle of the reign of 
Henry VIII (8 189). 

179. Richard and the Nobles; Lords Appellant; "Merciless 
Parliament." 1386. — The reign of Richard II was a period of 
strife between the nobles and the king for control. The action of 
the young king at the time of the attack of the mob on London 
had shown that he was by no means a man who could be easily 
ind had revealed unexpet ted strength of character. Alter 

the Peasants' Revolt, Richard, to a considerable degree, acted 

independently of the council by which the realm was supposed 
to be governed. He soon began to gather around him favor- 
ites who counseled him to assume that position of independence 
and high prerogative to which his natural disposition inclined 
him. 

The war with France continued with ill success, and the French, 
in [386, threatened an invasion. The men whom Richard had 
I to a high place were disliked by the country; and when 
Parliament demanded their removal, Richard replied that he would 
not dismiss a scullion from his kitchen at such a request. Times 
had changed, however, and it was too late for an English king to 
take such a position. An unacceptable minister was impeached, 
fined, and imprisoned, anil a Commission was chosen to rule the 
countrv. 

Richard released his minister as soon as Parliament adjourned. 
Hearing that Richard was about to maintain his position by force, 
the leaders of the opposition appeared with an army of 40,000 
men and effectually put an end to the king's plans. The five 
lords who headed this movement were called the Lords Appellant 
because they appealed or accused of treason Richard's councilors. 
A Parliament, known as the "Merciless Parliament," met in 1388 
and finished the work of the five Lords Appellant. 



RICHARD II AN ABSOLUTE MONARCH 



J 59 



180. Richard II takes the Government into his Own Hands. 
I 3 8 9-~ Richard had submitted, it is true, but the rule of the 
nobles was not agreeable to the country ; if the choice was be- 
tween selfish nobles and a selfish king, the people preferred the 
latter. Without any warning 
of his intention, Richard, in 
1389, asked his uncle before 
the whole council of re- 
gents, how old he was. 
"Your Highness," replied 
the Duke of Gloucester, " is 
in your twenty-second year." 
"Then," said Richard, "I 
must be old enough to man- 
age my own affairs, as every 
heir is at liberty to do when 
he is twenty-one." Richard 
dismissed the council, and 
from that time began to rule 
alone. For the next eight 
years he ruled as a constitu- 
tional monarch, and the 
kingdom was well adminis- 
tered. In 1394 his wife, 
Anne of Bohemia, died 
without children. The same year Richard concluded a truce 
with France and Scotland for four years. 

181. Richard an Absolute Monarch. 1397-1399. — In 1396 
Richard entered upon negotiations which resulted in his marriage 
with Isabella, the eight-year-old daughter of the French king, 
when a further truce for twenty-eight years was agreed upon. 
From this time his character seems to have changed. He 
became suspicious, and began a career of absolutism and un- 
constitutional acts. Intimidated by a body of Cheshire archers, 




Richard II 

After an engraving based on the original 
in Westminster Abbey. Probably the oldest 
authentic portrait in England 



i6o 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



the Parliament of Shrewsbury (139S) granted subsidies to the 
king for life, and the authority of Parliament itself was delegated 



Descendants of Edward III. showing Claims of Lancaster and York 

F.]>\\ \KI> III 

1377 

= Philipp.i ol Hainault 

I 



Edward 
Prii 

.1. 1 

R i< 1 1 \ k 1 > 11 

1377-1399 (deposed) 



Lionel 
1 )uk>- of 

= Elizabeth 



(i) 



John of Gaunl Thomas 
Duke "t 1 »uke "t 

1 ..111. -.i>trr Gloucester 
= (1 1 I 

■ 
1 ») Katharine Swynford 

I 



Edmund 

I >uke of 

York 



William 



'hilit 



Richard 

E. of Cambridge 
= Anm- dau. Earl 
ol March 



= Edmund Mortimer 
Earl of March 

I 
• ■! March 



Henry i v 

1399-14 13 
M try Bohun 

I 



Henry 
Beaufort 



John 
ufbrt 
1'.. ol Somerset 



I 
Richard 

I), of York 



Edmund 

March 

d. 1484 



Anne 
Rii hard 

I 

( '.111! 



ill SKY V 
1413-1432 

Katharine 
ince 



1 

John 

I>. ..1 Bedford 

d. 1410 



Henry VI 

. 

Ri< hard, I ). of York Margaret ol Ajou 

= Cicel N 



147 1 



I I 

Edward l\' Edmund Richard III 

1483 D. of Clarence 14S3-1475 

= Elizabeth W'oodville = Anne N 



Edward V 

d. 1483 



\ I 

Richard Elizabeth 

d. 1483 = Henry VI] 
1485-1509 



Henry yiii 
1509- 1549 



Charles VI of France 

I 
Katharine 
= (1) Henry V of England 

wen Tudor 

I 
(2) Edmund '1 udor 
= Lady Margarel Beaufort 

I 
Henry VII 



Catharine 

Edward 

Courtenay 

I 

Henry Courtenay 

Marquis ol Exeter 

d. 1538 



I 
1 lumphrey 

Duk 
Gloucester 



I homas 

Duke of 

i llarence 



Margarel 

( 'hai les the Mold 
D. ol Burgundy 

I 
Mary 

= Maximilian 

I 
Philip 

= Joanna d.ui. 
Ferdinand and 

Isabella of Spain 

I 
Charles V 



Philip II 

John Beaufort 
I ' of Si 'in 
d. 1444 

I 
Lady Margaret Beaufort 
= Edmund Tudor, E. of Richmond 

Henry (Tudor) VII 

1485-1509 



RICHARD DEPOSED l6l 

to a small committee of eighteen lords, two bishops, and six 
members of the House of Commons. This made the king prac- 
tically an absolute monarch. 

It was impossible that such a change should be made without 
challenge. The party of opposition found its leader in Henry 
Bolingbroke, Earl of Derby, son of John of Gaunt. On the death 
of John of Gaunt (1399), Richard had seized his lands, Henry 
having been banished without apparent cause, the year previous. 
Henry was bitter against Richard, and well fitted to lead the 
opposing forces. The king, meanwhile, had organized an expedi- 
tion against the Irish, who were invading the lands within the Pale 
(§ 168). Henry landed in Yorkshire in July, 1399, first pro- 
claiming that he came to recover his family estates which had 
been illegally taken from him ; then that he had come to redress 
the wrongs of the nation. The rebellious commoners hailed him 
as their deliverer ; one powerful noble after another joined him, 
and the Duke of York, whom Richard had left as regent, deserted 
the royal cause and went over to Henry. 

182. Richard Deposed; His Death. 1400. — When Richard 
heard what had taken place, he strove to raise forces to resist the 
rebellion, but the greater part of his army disappeared in a single 
day, and at last he found himself almost alone in Conway 
castle, Wales. He was persuaded to meet Henry for confer- 
ence at Flint, where he was surrounded and betrayed into the 
hands of his enemy. He was taken to London, confined in 
the Tower, and compelled to sign his abdication. When Parlia- 
ment came together, the Act of Deposition with its twenty-three 
reasons was read, and the throne declared vacant. Henry now 
came forward, and in a speech delivered in English, claimed the 
crown by virtue of being a descendant of Henry III. 1 No dis- 

1 Henry's claim to the throne had little to support it. He was descended on 
his mother's side from Edmund, the younger son of Henry III. A lad, Edmund 
Mortimer, Earl of March, who was descended from Lionel, younger son of 
Edward III (see Genealogy, p. 160), was the legal heir, and Richard, who was child- 
less, had so recognized him. As has been well said: "The real importance . . . 



l62 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

senting voice was heard, and Henry of Lancaster became 
Henry IV of England, and Richard was imprisoned in Pontefract 
Castle, Yorkshire. The change was the work of the nobles, and 
the people had but little hand in it. Like the Revolution of 16SS, 
it was almost a " bloodless revolution, for three of Richard's coun- 
cilors were the only lives sacrificed." 

Richard's character is a difficult one to understand. It is hard 
to believe that his constitutional rule for eight years was all a 
pretense for the sake of gaining a position which would enable 
him to seize absolute power. It is possible that his mind became 
affected, and that this led to his change of i onduct ; at the same 
time it must be confessed that all his life he was subject to great 
fluctuations of character. A conspiracy against Henry in favor of 
Richard took place early in 1400, but it was suppressed Soon 
afterwards it was learned that Richard was dead. 1 To disprove 
ugly rumors against himself. Henry exhibited Richard's body, but 
as only the face was shown, it proved nothing. It is still believed 
that the unfortunate prisoner met his death by Henry's orders. 
Henry wis also careful to keep the young Earl of March, the 
hereditary heir to the throne, in confinement during the whole 
reign. The young heir to the Scottish throne, Prince James, who 
had fallen into English hands, was also imprisoned, and was not 
released for about nineteen years (^ 185). 

References. — Green, Short History, chap, v, §§ 1-5; Gardiner, Students 
History, chaps, wii. wiii ; Terry, History^ Part III, Book I, chaps, iv-v ; 
Tout, Advanced History, Hook [II, chap, iv, §§ [9-28; Traill, Social Eng- 
land, Vo\. II, chap. \i (in part); Adams ami Stephens, Select Documents, 
§§ 79- 10 5 '. Cheyney, Readings, (hap. x, £§ v-vii ; chap. \\, § i ; Colby, 
Selections, §§ 4 1 --4.? ; Kendall, Source-Book, §£ 34-35; Lee, Source-Book, 
chap, xiii, ^j 96 98. 

lay not in what Henry said, but in what he avoided saying. It was a reversion to 
the old right of election and to the precedent set in the deposition ol Edward II." 

1 I Icnry gave out that Richard had voluntarily starved himself to death in Ponte- 
fract Castle, his place of confinement ; but few believed this. 



CHAPTER XIII 

HUNDRED YEARS' WAR (Concluded). WARS OF 
THE ROSES 

183. Henry IV (of Lancaster). 1399. — Henry of Lancaster 
was king by virtue of the authority of a Parliament controlled by 
the more conservative and aristocratic party of the baronage, and 
he knew that the only way he could maintain himself on the 
throne was by submission to the wishes of Parliament. The same 
is true of all monarchs of the Lancastrian house. They were 
kings by sufferance, not by divine right. Henry laid down as his 
policy strict obedience to law, regard for Parliament, and alliance 
with the church and with the nobility. We see him, then, en- 
deavoring to suppress the Lollards (§§ 176-17S), upholding the 
temporal power of the clergy, and, in general, opposing the move- 
ments which led toward greater freedom for the lower classes. 
He was a shrewd man and possessed considerable political in- 
sight; he was temperate in his habits, religious in disposition, and 
though not naturally vindictive, he could on occasion use stern 
measures to make his word respected. He had declared himself 
in favor of vigorous reforms, and this, together with the fact that 
the nearest heir by hereditary descent was a child (§ 182, note), 
made the country willing to accept him. It was recognized that 
a strong king was needed, and the country was tired of govern- 
ment by councils or regents. Notwithstanding this, during his 
reign of fourteen years Henry had his full share of conspiracies 
and invasions of greater or less importance. 

184. Rebellions; The Percys; Owen Glendower. 1403. — A 
truce with Scotland expired in 1399 and the Scots assumed a 
hostile attitude. As it was needful to prevent them from forming 

163 



164 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

an active alliance with France, Henry invaded Scotland, getting 
as far as Edinburgh. He was, however, compelled to leave in 
order to hurry to Wales, where a rebellion to establish the inde- 
pendence of that country had broken out under Owen (ilendower, 
or Glyndwr, a descendant of the old Welsh princes. The danger 
was increased by the outbreak of a conspiracy against Henry, in 
which the Percys, who were among the most powerful nobles, 
took part. They had been supporters of Henry, but became 
estranged from him, and proclaiming the Earl of March to be the 
rightful king, they joined (ilendower as the best way of securing 
their ends, but in July, 1403, the Percys ami their supporters 
were defeated at Shrewsbury, and Henry Percy, known as "Hot- 
spur," was slain, (ilendower, however, continued to hold out. 
In 1406 a French force landed at Mil ford Haven, but the French, 
disappointed at the weakness of their Welsh allies, returned to 
France, and the Welsh uprising came to an end. (ilendower 
went into retirement and died some years later a free man. 

Henry put down all conspiracies, and guarded against future 
ones by executing the leaders without mercy. 1 Among those who 
were thus executed was Archbishop Scrope of York, whose death 
showed clearly that Henry would stop at nothing to secure his 
< r< >wn. 

185. Seizure of James I of Scotland, 1406; His Captivity. — 
Domestic troubles in France took away fear of that country, and 
difficulties with Scotland were averted through the capture by an 
English ship of the young son and heir of the Scottish king as he 
was going to France (1406 ?), ostensibly to be educated, but really 
to escape his uncle, who wished to gain the Scottish throne for 
himself. Henry kept the boy as a hostage for the good behavior 
of the Scots, saying that the prince should have been sent to him 
in the first instance, as he could speak French as well as his brother 
of France. Not long after this, King Robert of Scotland died. 

1 1 lonscious of the danger from tin- hereditary claims of young Mortimer, Earl 
of March, Henry imprisoned him in the lower. 



HENRY IV OF LANCASTER 



165 



and the boy became James I ; but even then Henry would not let 
him go, and for about nineteen years the young man remained 
in honorable confinement at Windsor Castle. While there he fell 
in love with Lady Jane Beaufort, a member of the royal family. 
James afterwards married her, and she became queen of Scotland. 
James was one of Scotland's ablest rulers. 1 




Court Costumes in the Time of Henry IV 

186. Henry and the Church ; Heretics. — Partly from personal 
reasons and partly from policy, Henry supported the church. 
The church was active in attempting to root out heresy of all 
kinds. The ecclesiastical courts could condemn men as heretics, 
but had no power to burn them, which was considered the proper 
method of punishment. The bishops and abbots at this time 
formed a majority in the House of Lords, but though there was 
in the House of Commons a strong feeling against the church on 
account of its wealth, there was little or no sympathy with heresy. 

1 James I was no mean poet, and when in captivity composed a long poem, 
" The King's Quair " (King's Quire or Book). The story of his life is one of the most 
romantic in English and Scottish annals. His uncle, the Duke of Albany, was 
regent in his absence, and because he desired the throne for himself, he made 
little effort for the release of his nephew. Lady Jane Beaufort was a sister of John 
Beaufort, from whom Henry VII was descended. 



1 66 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

So when a statute for the burning of heretics (De haeretico com- 
burendo) was brought forward, it met with little opposition 
(1401). This was the first act of the kind passed in England. 
Even while it was under consideration by Parliament, a priest, 
William Sawtre, or Sautre, convicted of heresy by the Convocation 
of Canterbury, was burned alive by the order of the king. This 
famous statute was used against the Lollards and several suffered 
under it. 

187. Death of Henry IV ; Henry V. 1413-1422. — In main- 
taining himself upon the throne, Henry had been ably assisted 
by his young son, Prince Henry, who also took his place in the 
Council and showed himself as able there as on the battlefield, 
but there arose between him and his father a quarrel, which had 
not ceased at the Icing's death. Henry IV, who had suffered much 
from ill health, died in 141.} and was succeeded without opposi- 
tion by his son, who became Henry \ . 

Henry V was twenty-five at the time of his succession. He is 
regarded as one of the most brilliant and popular of English mon- 
archy " He was temperate, chaste, and frugal, serious and con- 
sistent in his devotions, generous and courteous in his dealings 
with others." He spoke little, but was well educated and well 
informed. He was the most successful general of his time, equally 
good in strategy and in the campaign. Hi> personal appearance 
was ' omely, and he was so swift of foot that it was said he could 
run down a deer. According to later authorities' his youth was 
wild and even dissolute, but contemporary writers make no men- 
tion of the>e reports. 

188. Henry and Parliament. - His first acts show that he had 
confidence in his title to the crown, for he liberated the Earl of 
March, the legal heir (§ 182, note), and entered into friendly re- 
lations with him ; he also brought the remains of Richard II from 
where they had been interred and placed them in the grand tomb 

1 It is upon these late accounts that Shakespeare bases his stories of " Prince 
Hal " in his "King Henry IV." 



HENRY V AND PARLIAMENT 



167 



in Westminster Abbey, which Richard had prepared for himself 
and his queen ; he ignored previous quarrels among the royal 
councilors, and placed in his Council members of each faction. 

Recognizing the importance of conciliating Parliament, he 
granted the privilege that a law once passed should not in any way 
be changed. This was an im- 
portant concession, for hereto- 
fore the text of the laws had 
been left to the Council to frame, 
and not infrequently the word- 
ing was so altered as to defeat 
the very purpose of the law. 
Parliament had gained much 
during the reign of Henry IV. 
Among the privileges of mem- 
bers were these : that they 
should not be held responsible 
for what was said in Parliament ; 
that " except for treason, felony, 
and surety of the peace " they 
should be free from arrest ; and 
that petitions to the king should 
be speedily answered. Already Parliament named the Royal 
Council, controlled taxation, audited the royal accounts, and in- 
sisted that redress of grievances should precede grants of money. 
Indeed, rarely, if ever before, had Parliament so much power and 
royal recognition as during the reign of Henry V. 

189. Henry and the Church; Lollardry ; Oldcastle. — Henry 
had no sympathy with heresy, and he determined to stamp it out. 
The most prominent victim was Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham, 
a knight of the west of England. Oldcastle finally surrendered 
himself. He boldly proclaimed his views, and refused to recant, 
though Henry himself, who was under obligations to him for his 
support of his father, begged him to do so. Oldcastle was then 




1 68 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

handed over to the secular authority to be burnt, but he escaped, 
and organized a rebellion in defense of liberty of conscience. 
Unfortunately the Lollards answered the call. There could be 
but one end. The rising was promptly crushed, and many per- 
sons were put to death. Oldcastle, after being in hiding three 
years, was captured, hanged as a traitor, and his body burned as 
that of a heretic (1418). 1 Lollanlry, however, was not extin- 
guished, but its influence worked silently in favor of freedom of 
thought. The doctrines wore widespread, and convictions for 
heresy continued into the reign of Henry VIII. The history of 
the Lollards shows that Protestantism in England had a gradual 
and steady growth, for the Lollards were practically Protestants 
before Luther. 

190. Henry and France ; claims French Crown. — Henry, doubt- 
less led by policy as well as by a strong desire for military glory, 
turned his attention to foreign affairs. France at this time was torn 
by domestic factions and wars, and her king, Charles VI, was in- 
sane. In England there were powerful barons who, unless they 
were employed abroad, might stir up factions against Henry; 
moreover, such a war was in itself pleasing to the barons. The 
higher clergy also favored it because it would divert attention from 
them, and besides all this, the times were prosperous and the 
people were willing to support the king. 

From a modern point of view Henry's action was wholly un- 
justifiable. Beyond the ravages of some privateers from Nor- 
mandy during the reign of Henry IV, there was not even a plau- 
sible pretext for war, and Henry seems to have really made war 
chiefly for war's sake. 

France, anxious to avoid a conflict, in vain offered Henry those 
parts of Guienne and Gascony which England had lost since 1375, 
and also the hand in marriage of Katherine, daughter of the French 
king, together with a handsome dowry. Henry laid claim to the 
French crown and to all the territory which England had ever 

1 See Tennyson's poem, " Sir John Oldcastle." 



HENRY V AND FRANCE 1 69 

held in France, putting forward the same reasons which Edward 
III had used (§ 150). 1 

191. Henry invades France; Agincourt. 1415. — Henry ac- 
cordingly set out on his expedition in 1415, taking with him a 
small but well-equipped army. He landed near Harfleuron the Seine, 
which town he took after a siege of thirty days. He then marched 
toward Calais to join forces with the Duke of Burgundy, but was 
met by a French force nearly four times the size of his own, near 
the castle of Agincourt, not far from Calais. Here, owing to 
Henry's skill, to the lack of French discipline, and to the unac- 
countable blunders of the French general, he won a great victory 
(October 25, 1415), one to be placed beside Cre\cy and Poitiers. 
Agincourt, however, brought little real advantage to Henry except 
in the way of renown and popularity at home. He returned to 
England in November, and was received with enthusiasm, Parlia- 
ment making him grants of revenue for life. 

192. Conquers Normandy, 141 7; Treaty of Troyes, 1420; 
Heir to French Crown. — Affairs in France were at their worst in 
141 7, and Henry, seizing the opportunity, landed in Normandy 
with twenty-five thousand troops. After a few towns had been 
taken, he forbade all pillage and announced that his purpose was to 
save the land from anarchy and to introduce order and just rule. 
In less than two years all Normandy fell into his hands. This 
would not have been possible had France been free from domestic 
factions. But this division of forces led to the Treaty of Troyes 
(May 21, 1420), by which the Dauphin (the heir to the French 
crown) was disinherited and Henry was recognized as the heir of 
Charles VI, the insane king. Henry, moreover, was to marry 
Katherine, the king's daughter, and be regent of France until her 
father's death. The English king had apparently gained all he 
wished ; but nations cannot always be transferred by the agree- 
ment of their rulers. 

1 The claim to the crown was almost absurd, for if there was any claim whatever, 
it belonged to the Earl of March, who was the hereditary heir of Edward III. 



iyo HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

193. Henry and France ; Death of Henry. 1422. — The Eng- 
lish were hated by the French ; and though the leaders had 
accepted Henry, because for the time it seemed the best policy, 
they were in no sense loyal to him, and, in fact, Henry never con- 
trolled the greater part of Frame Not long after the treaty, 
Henry went to England, taking his bride, (Catherine, with him. 
He left his brother, the Duke of Clarence, to look after his 
interests in France, but the duke lacked skill and judgment. 
Henry was forced to return. He was successful in quieting 
France, but, stricken with disease, he died (1422) at the early 
age of thirty-five. Within a few weeks Charles VI also died, 
and thus the infant son of Henry, not vet a year old, was made 
king of England, as Henry VI, and, by the Treaty of Troves, of 

I'ram c also. 

194. Henry's Will; The Regency, 1122 ; Bedford in France. — 
Henry in his will appointed regents for England and France, but 

the English Privy Council held that Henry's will was not binding, 
and authorized the calling of a Parliament. This Parliament set 
aside as invalid Henry's provision for regents, and appointed John, 
Duke of Bedford, Protector of the Realm, and Humphrey, Duke 
of Gloucester, to at t in Bedford's absence.' As a matter of fact 
the Council itself, many of whose member-- were appointed by 
Parliament, held the regency, and Bedford and Gloucester had 
little real power. 

Bj 142S Bedford had made himself master of almost all F ranee 
north of the Loire, except the strong and important city of Orleans ; 
it was plain that if he could take it, the chances would be favorable 
for overcoming the French heir known as Charles VII.- Bed- 
ford's fori' rdingly, laid siege to Orleans. That they were 
not successful is due to one of the most romantic and pathetic 
incidents in history. 

'Both were brothers of Henry, though very different in character, Gloucester's 
character being as bad as Bedford's was good. 
- lie was .1 son oi ( Ibarles VI of Fi 



JOAN OF ARC 



171 



195. Joan of Arc. 1429. — Just when the fall of Orleans 
seemed certain and the cause of Charles VII was at its lowest 
ebb, a great change took place in the fortunes of France. There 
was in I)omr6my, a little village in eastern France, a country girl 
of sixteen, who has since been known as Joan of Arc, or in 




Joan of Arc at the Head op her Troops 

French, Jeanne d'Arc. She was peasant-born, but the horrors of 
the conflict, and the woes of her unhappy country dwelt upon her 
mind till her heart was full of pity for the king, whom, in her 
imagination, she clothed with every virtue. She came to believe 
that St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret bade her go 
forth to save the king and to conduct him to Rheims to be 
anointed with the holy oil and crowned. At last, in 1429, clothed 
in man's armor, she rode to Chinon, where the king was, and 
having with great difficulty gained an audience with him, con- 
vinced him that her mission was divine. Officers and churchmen 
alike regarded her with suspicion, but her evident piety, her 



lj 2 HIST! >KY I >F ENGLAND 

simplicity, her faith in her mission, and the dismal condition of 
the king's cause made them give way, and she was allowed to ac- 
company an army sent for the relief of Orleans. She gained the 
city without difficulty and inspired the garrison with such courage 
that the English-were driven away and the siege raised. From 
that time she bore the name of the Maid of Orleans. The 
French followed up their successes under the leadership of Joan, 
until she saw Charles crowned king at Rheims (1427). 

196. Joan of Arc Captured ; Sold to English ; Burned. 1430- 
1431. — The mission of Joan of Arc was now accomplished and 
she wished to return home, but she was persuaded to stay with the 
army. She urged an immediate attack on Paris, but delays were 
made, the affair was badly managed, and the Maid was wounded. 
The soldiers became jealous of her, and she no longer had the 
power she once possessed. Philip of Burgundy, in a skirmish 
captured the Maid (1430), and sold her to the English for ten 
thousand (Towns. Charles, for whom she had done so much, made 
no effort to save her. She was imprisoned tor about a year, and 
then was tried by an ecclesiastical court as a heretic and sorceress. 
In spite of a noble defense, she was condemned to be burned. 
This sentence, to the disgrace of the English, of Charles VII, and 
of the French churchmen who condemned her, was carried out 
at Rouen, May 30, 1431. " At the stake she behaved with heroic 
simplicity. When the flames curled round her, she called upon 
the saints who had befriended her. Her last utterance was a 
cry of 'Jesus.' An Englishman who had come to triumph hung 
his head for shame. ' We are lost,' he said, ' we have burned a 
saint.' " ' 

197. Loss of France; End of Hundred Years' War. 1453. — 
The disgraceful treatment of Joan of Arc did not help the English 
cause. Though no longer present to inspire them, she had taught 

1 In that superstitious age it was not strange that her successes were supposed 
to be due to witchcraft ; and this belief was confirmed, according to their i'l 
her own statements that she had heard voices urging her to save France. 



END OF THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 



17. 



the French the possibility of united action and had encouraged 
them by her victories, and in spite of Bedford's efforts, the English 
gradually lost ground. In the latter part of 1431 the English 
boy king, Henry VI, was brought to Paris and crowned king of 
France in the cathedral of Notre Dame, but Bedford did not dare 
to keep him in France. As the English control weakened, it was 
difficult to get Parliament to make grants of funds to carry on the 
war or to support the English rule in France. In 1435 Bedford 
died. Effort after effort was made to redeem the failing fortunes 
of the English. Burgundy deserted them in 1435 » later, Paris fell 
into the hands of the French ; by 1450 all that Henry V had 
gained was lost, and in a few years more (1453) all the French 
territories that remained to England were the Channel Islands 
and Calais. The Hundred Years' War with its record of victory 
and defeat, of glory and shame, was at last ended. 

The war had brought both upon England and France untold suf- 
fering, widespread destruction of property of all kinds, and terrible 
loss of life. Even on the grounds of expediency, there had been 
little or nothing to justify the war in the beginning, and there had 
been still less to excuse its continuance. While it cannot be 
denied that some benefits resulted from the prolonged conflict, it is 
scarcely possible not to believe that progress and civilization were 
greatly checked, and what was won by blood might have been 
more easily and better gained by the apparently slower develop- 
ment which belongs to times of peace. 1 (App. 1, § 93.) 

198. Henry VI. 1422. — The history of political events in 
England for a number of years after the death of Henry V is little 
more than a record of petty quarrels between the nobles who wished 
to control the government during the long minority of Henry VI. 

Henry VI grew up to be a pious, excellent man, who was 
wholly out of place as a king. He came of age in 1442, and 

1 Though no formal treaty of peace was signed, the war was over. The English 
kings continued to call themselves kings of France until the Act of Union in 1801 
(§§ 59°i 59 1 )- when the meaningless title was silently dropped. 



174 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



through the influence of the Earl of Suffolk was married (1445) to 
Margaret, daughter of Rene, Duke of Anjou. It was a most 
unfortunate marriage for the House of Lancaster, for her ill-advised 
council and behavior helped greatly in bringing ruin on her 
husband's cause. 

199. Land Enclosures ; Retainers. — The labor troubles, which 
led to the Peasant Rebellion m i.^Si. had by no means settled the 
economic question. It is true that villeinage had almost died out. 
The large termibolders very commonly let their land to tenants who 
paid money rent tor it, but this practice was not very profitable, 
and gradually it became common to inclose land and give it up to 
pasturage. Tins system commended itself to the landlord, for it 
required fewer men to care for flocks and herds than to cultivate 
fields. ( >n the other hand, many men were thrown out of employ- 
ment, and the enclosure of what had been common land fell 
heavily on the tenants, as it deprived them of land that they had 
formerly used. The great nobles gathered many of those thrown 
out of work into bands of retainers, forming, in fact, petty armies. 

The conclusion of the war in France brought back numbers of 
soldiers used to the rough campaign life of that day and accus- 
tomed to arts of pillage and ruffianism. These also found employ- 
ment with the rich nobles, thus swelling the bands of retainers. 
The country, therefore, was in a condition to invite disorder, 
with a weak central government, powerful nobles at the head of 
armed bands, a discontented people, and justice almost unobtain- 
able. The evil of the system of retainers was clearly seen and 
Parliament passed several acts designed to lessen the dangers of 
" livery and maintenance," as the keeping of these bands of retain- 
ers was called ; but with the inefficient government existing, it 
was impossible to enforce the laws. The election of members of 
Parliament was often a farce, as it was wholly under the control of 
the local sheriff or nobleman. 

200. Jack Cade's Rebellion. 1450. — The discontent of the 
people was shown in what is known as Jack Cade's Rebellion. 



JACK CADE'S REBELLION 



175 



This movement, though primarily of the lower classes, was sup- 
ported by men from all ranks. There was a strong feeling against 
the government then in power under the leadership of the Duke 
of Suffolk. 1 

Richard, Duke of York, the next heir to the throne, 2 had been 
careful not to be identified with the Cade Rebellion, though he 
was quite willing to gain any 
advantage from it. For reasons 
of his own he had espoused the 
popular cause. 

The rebellion began in Kent, 
probably because there the mis- 
government was strongly felt and 
the loss of France had greatly 
injuredthe trade and manufac- 
tures which had flourished in 
that part of the country. 

Jack Cade was an Irish ad- 
venturer who claimed that he was 
a son of the late Earl of March. 
He advanced toward London at 
the head of thirty thousand men. 
They demanded, first, the re- 
dress of grievances, — such as excessive taxation, the squandering 
of the revenues, the oppression of the sheriffs, illegal elections, the 
corruption of officials, etc., — and they finally urged the restora- 
tion of the Duke of York to power. This last was practically 
saying that the king was unfit to rule. A detachment of the king's 
forces met them, but was defeated. Henry then agreed to dismiss 

1 Suffolk had become so unpopular that he was impeached, convicted, and 
banished. On his way to France, he was seized and murdered. 

2 Richard was the son of Anne, who was descended from Lionel, third son of 
Edward III. Richard's father was descended from Edmund, fifth son of Edward 
III. so that York had a double claim upon the throne. The House of Lancaster 
came through John of Gaunt, fourth son of Edward III. 




IIlONKV VI 

After the portrait in the National 
Portrait Gallery 



^6 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

the treasurer and sheriff of Kent, against whom they had a 
special grudge. London opened its gates to the crowd, but when 
the rebels began to plunder houses and shops, and in spite of the 
king's dismissal, murdered the royal treasurer and the sheriff of 
Kent, the Londoners turned against the insurgents and forced them 
out of the city. After a fight on London Bridge, the mob agreed to 
retire on promise of pardon. Jack Cade, who kept a small force 
with him, was finally overtaken and slain by the new sheriff of Kent. 
201. Insanity of Henry, 1453; Birth of an Heir, 1453; Re- 
bellion of York, 1455 ; Wars of the Roses Begun. 1455. — ^ n 
1453 Henry VI became insane and a regency was needful. In 
the same year Queen Margaret gave birth to a son. Like the 
birth of a son to James II in 1688 (§ 468), it was a most un- 
desirable occurrence for England, for it put an end to the Duke 
of York's claim to the throne, and made the way easier for factions 
to exist. York was made the protector of the kingdom in 1454, 
but, unfortunately, Henry regained his health. He was, however, 
under the influence of Queen Margaret, who was determined to 
drive York from power. This she succeeded in doing, and York 
now became the enemy of the king and resolved to regain his 
position by force. He collected an army and gained several power- 
ful noblemen to his active support. He marched south and met 
the royal force, under Somerset, the old favorite of the king, at 
St. Albans, about twenty miles north of Loudon. Here a battle 
was fought 1 May 22, 1455 1, in which the Yorkists were successful, 
and Somerset was slain. The king was taken prisoner, but the 
conquerors affirmed their loyalty to him and pretended to be his 
humble liegemen. This battle is reckoned as the beginningof the so- 
called Wars of the Roses, which distracted England for thirty years. 1 

1 The badge of the Yorkists was a white rose, and that of the Lancastrians a red 
rose. Exactly how these emblems were chosen is not certainly known. The red 
rose of Lancaster does not seem to have been adopted till after the struggle had 
been going on for some time, while the white rose appears to have been an ancient 
badge of the House of \ popular tradition is given by Shakespeare in 

his " Henry VI," Part 1, Act 2, Scene 4. 



WARS OF THE ROSES 



177 



202. Peace, 1458; Renewal of Conflict, 1459; York's Success, 
and then Defeat and Death, 1460. — Henry pardoned York 
and his companions, all of whom made professions of loyalty. 
Henry soon had a return of insanity, and Parliament appointed 
York as Protector, the length of his service to be determined by 
Parliament itself. But Henry's attack was short, and when he 
resumed control, York retired. For two years there was reason- 
able quiet, but then hostilities began again. The Yorkists were 
unsuccessful, and York fled to Ireland. At Margaret's dictation a. 
partisan Parliament of Coventry (1459) passed an act of attainder 
against York and his supporters, the Earls of Salisbury and War- 
wick, the first instance of the kind in English history. This was 
a serious blunder, for whereas the struggle had been for control 
of the government, now, on the part of the Yorkists, it was for life 
and property and the rights of their children as well. It forced 
them to fight. In the same year (1459) the Yorkist earls defeated 
the royal army and captured the king. York now returned from 
Ireland and laid claim to the throne on the grounds of his birth 
(§ 200, note). 

It was a bold claim to make after the Lancastrians had sat on 
the throne for three generations. The matter was debated in 
Parliament, which finally decided that Henry should retain the 
crown during his life, but that York should succeed him. Henry 
assented to this, but Queen Margaret had no intention of yielding 
the right of her son to inherit the crown, and she refused to accede 
to the new arrangement. She withdrew to the north, the majority 
of whose inhabitants were favorable to the Lancastrian cause, 
raised an army, met the Yorkists at Wakefield, and defeated them 
(Dec. 30, 1460). In the battle York himself was slain, and his 
head crowned with a paper crown was fastened over one of the 
gates of the city of York. 

203. Edward, Earl of March, becomes Edward IV. 1461. — 
Richard's eldest son, Edward, Earl of March, only nineteen 
years old, now became Duke of York and the leader of the 



178 HIST >RY « >F ENGLAND 

Yorkists. Two battles were fought, in one of which the Yorkists 
were victors and in the other the Lancastrians. The lawlessness of 
Margaret's followers and the ravages and outrages which they com- 
mitted greatly incensed the Londoners. When Edward reached 
London he was welcomed by the citizens, anil. Mire of support, he 
summoned a council of lords and declared his right to the Eng- 
lish throne. The council thereupon deposed Henry on the grounds 
of bad faith and incompetency, and offered the < rown to Edward. 
lie accepted it and was proclaimed king as Edward IV (1461). 
He soon marched north to defend his title and his throne. He 
opanied by the Earl of Warwick, the craftiest and most 
powerful of the English nobles. The Lancastrian forces were met 
.it Towton, Yorkshire 1 March 2<>, [461 1 and in a battle, fought for 
hours in a blinding snowstorm, were routed. Margaret and her 
son escaped to Scotland, while Henry was taken prisoner. 

204. Edward and Warwick. — The principal supporters of the 
Yorkist cause were the Nevilles, a rich family, the head of which 
was the Earl of Warwick. As Edward was only about twenty 
years old, Warwick naturally expected to have a controlling voice 
in the affairs of the kingdom. Edward, however, in 1464 secretly 
married Elizabeth Grey, a widow belonging to the family of the 
Woodvilles, and SOOn began to bestow political and other favors 
upon his wife's kindred. In various ways Edward showed that 
he had resolved to be his own master. At last he dismissed 
Warwick ( 1467) and thus made him his determined enemy. 

Warwick, who had no >on, married one of his daughters to the 
Duke of Clarence, a brother of Edward, and encouraged him to 
think that he might be placed on Edward's throne. Several ris- 
ings, probably stimulated by Warwick, took place, but were put 
down by Edward. Warwick fled to France, where he became 
reconciled to Queen Margaret and made common cause with her 
against Edward, who was now their common enemy. King 
Louis XI of France supported the movement against Edward, who 
by his extravagance and luxury had alienated many from him. 



EDWARD IV AND WARWICK 



179 



An expedition against him led by Warwick took him by surprise, 
and he fled to Holland for safety (1470). Henry was again pro- 
claimed king, but the revolution was short-lived. Edward, aided 
by the Duke of Burgundy, returned to England, landed in York- 
shire, and, marching toward London, met the Lancastrian forces 
at Barnet, a few miles from the city, where he defeated them 








Ml , r , ■•<■■■ ■ _+.., .viAtxaqeffl 



Warwick Castle 

(April 14, 1471). Warwick and several others of the Lancastrian 
nobles were slain. 1 

205. Lancastrian Defeat at Tewkesbury; Death of Henry VI. 
147 1. — Edward was not yet secure, for Margaret, on the very 
day of the battle of Barnet, had landed in the west. Edward 
hastened to meet her forces, and at Tewkesbury (May 4, 147 1) 
defeated her. Her son, now a young man of seventeen, was 
either slain in the battle, or murdered after it, 2 thus destroying all 
her hopes. 

The last of the male Beauforts, Edmund, Duke of Somerset, 
was captured, and though Edward had solemnly promised him 
and other prisoners their lives, they were executed without mercy. 

1 Warwick was known as the " kingmaker " from the important part which he 
played in setting up and putting down kings. 

2 It was reported that the young prince was slain alter the battle, in the king's 
presence, by Richard, Duke of Gloucester, the king's brother. 



I SO HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

On the night of Edward's return from London, Henry VI died in 
the Tower (1471). put to death, it has always been supposed, by 
order of Edward. There was not now a single member in the 
House of Lancaster old enough to dispute Edward's crown; nor 
was there a descendant of Henry IV living; and of the Beau- 
forts, the descendants of John of Gaunt and Catherine Swynford, 
the only representative was the exiled Henry, Duke of Richmond, 
fourteen years old, the son of Lady Margaret Beaufort and Ed- 
mund Tudor. Besides this, the slaughter among the adherents 
both of York and Lancaster had, for the time, removed fear of 
the nobility. Edward was therefore master of the situation. 

206. Edward's English Policy; Continental Affairs. 147 1- 
1475. — l' ne king now entered upon a period which was, for the 
most part, one of peace. His rule was despotic, and Parliament 
had little real power. Parliaments, it is true, were summoned 
occasionally, ami the king laid before them important measures, 
but these were almost always derided as he wished. 

In 1475 Edward joined with Charles the Bold of Burgundy, his 
brother-in-law, 1 in an alliance against Louis XI of Frame, the 
object of which was to increase Burgundy's domains, on the one 
hand, anil, on the other, to give Normandy and Aquitaine to 
Edward. The affair was well planned, and if Burgundy hail been 
able to carry out his share of the enterprise, it would have gone 
hard with Louis. Fortunately for Louis, Charles was prevented 
from joining Edward, and the latter, in disgust, entered into a 
treaty with Louis, the shrewdest monarch of his time. Louis 
calculated what the war would probably cost and then offered to 
buy Edward off. His proposition was accepted, and Edward 
returned to England without striking a blow. (App. 1, § 93.) 

207. Benevolences. — In raising money for the prosecution of 
war with France a new method of securing funds was employed. 
This was the system of " benevolences." The king would send or 

1 Edward had in 1468 married his sister Margaret to Charles the Bold, Duke of 
Burgundy. 



POLICY OF EDWARD IV l8l 

go to a wealthy noble or gentleman and ask him of his free will or 
" benevolence " to give him a sum of money. There was no pre- 
tense of repayment ; but the gift, so called, was generally obtained, 
as to refuse might mean confiscation of the whole of one's fortune. 
This unconstitutional system of gaining funds apparently was not 
protested against, partly because the people were indifferent, as it 
saved them from taxation and affected only the rich, and partly 
because even for the rich it was better to endure such injustice 
than to run the risk of bringing back the horrors of civil war. 

Edward was little inclined for war, and with the exception of 
his expedition to France and a brief campaign against Scotland, 
the last twelve years of his reign were peaceful. A few years 
before his death he charged his brother, the Duke of Clarence, 
with treason ; the charge was sustained, Clarence was condemned, 
and was confined in the Tower, where he was secretly murdered. 1 

208. Death of Edward IV, 1483; His Character. — Edward 
IV, though inferior to many of his predecessors, was a strong man, 
bold, unscrupulous, cruel, and shrewd, rather than brilliant. His 
personal habits were coarse and sensual, but he encouraged art 
and literature as well as commerce and manufactures. That he 
was tolerated is due to the fact that all classes realized the need 
of a strong hand at the helm, preferring his despotism to the chaos 
and misery they had endured under his immediate predecessors. 

Edward IV died in 1483 at the early age of forty-two, worn out 
with dissipation. He left three children — two sons and a daughter. 

209. Edward V, 1483 ; Richard, Duke of Gloucester, Pro- 
tector ; Richard III, 1483. — The eldest son of Edward, who 
was but thirteen, succeeded him as Edward V. England with 
good reason had learned to shrink from the rule of regents and 

1 This was the Clarence who went over to Warwick and later married his 
daughter, and still later deserted Warwick at the battle of Barnet, and so helped to 
ruin Warwick's cause. Clarence was a worthless renegade, the " false, fleeting, 
perjured Clarence," as he was called; but the spectacle of one brother openly and 
personally charging another with crime and then causing him to be put to death, 
was revolting even to that rough age. 



182 



HISTORY i 'I 1 \',I Wl> 




protectors. The king's brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, 
who had always been trusted by Edward, was appointed Prol 
by the Royal ( louncil. 

Richard immediately began to scheme for his own advancement 

to the throne. 1 [e caused the 
little king and his brother to be 
seized and put into the Tower 

on the pretense of safe keeping, 

and on June 25, 1483,8 partisan 
Parliament proclaimed Richard 
king, and the next day he W8S 
1 rowned as Richard 1 1 1. Not 

long alter this time the little 
princes in the Tower, sons of 
Edward, were put to death, it 
has always been believed bv the 
express < ommand <>f Ru hard 
himself. The fact <>t the murder 
was not known at first, but by 
- tin- story \\ 1- spread abroad and excited universal indig- 
nation, 1 Richard rapidly lost popularity, and though he really 
governed well, his skill did not avail. Misfortunes came Upon 
him. In 1484 his only son died, and the next year, his wife. 

210. Henry Tudor ; Battle of Bosworth Field ; Death of Rich- 
ard III. [485. — Meanwhile, Henry Tudor, Karl of Richmond 

(see Genealogy, p. 160), the Lancastrian claimant of the throne 

($ 205), was on the Continent, laying plans for the invasion of 

England. In July, 1 4 s 5 , he landed at Milford Haven, Wales, 

and marched a< gland with his forces constantly increasing 

by new adherents, for the feeling that the king's cause was lost 

was now very general. Henry met the royal forces at Bosworth 

1 The exact tali- of tin- little princes was unknown for about thirty years, then a 
man acknowledged tint they had been smothered, and that theii bodies bad been 

buried under a stone at the foot of a staircase. Two hundred years later two 
small skeletons were found in tin- place indicated. 



Rn 11 \ki> III 
After a contemporary i->rt r.iit 



END OF WARS OF THE ROSES 183 

Field, in the very center of England (August 22, 1485). Richard 
fought desperately, but could not count on his own supporters. 
One of these, Lord Stanley, went over to Henry at the beginning 
of the battle, while others stood aloof. Richard was killed on the 
field and his cause was lost. Richard had worn his crown in the 
conflict, and after the battle Lord Stanley, amid shouts of " King 
Henry," put it upon Richmond's head. 

211. Henry VII. 14S5. — Henry had little or no claim to the 
throne by hereditary right. 1 He did not attempt to justify himself 
on that basis. Parliament, ignoring hereditary claims, accepted the 
situation by declaring that the inheritance of the (Town was to 
"rest and abide in King Henry VI] and his heirs." "He was 
chosen to vindicate no theory of hereditary or other abstract 
right, but to govern with a firm hand, to give peace within his 
gates, and prosperity unto his people." 

Henry owed his success to a combination of nobles who were 
tired of war ami wished for peace. They included men of oppo- 
site parties who now saw that an easy way of ending the conflict 
would be for Henry to marry Elizabeth, daughter and only surviv- 
ing child of Edward IV, who represented the Yorkist claims. But 
Henry, unwilling for his kingship to depend solely upon his wife's 
claim, secured recognition from Parliament, and also from the Tope. 
Then he married Elizabeth, who was about twenty years old ( 1486), 
thus uniting the claims of York and Lancaster and securing the sup- 
port of the adherents of each party. But it was Henry's ability and 
shrewdness which made his throne secure. Circumstances were 
favorable for a man who could take advantage of them, and Henry's 
intelligence and readiness stood him in good stead. 

212. Effects of the Wars of the Roses ; Social and Economic 
Changes. — With the battle of Bosworth Field the Wars of the 

1 On the hereditary principle the daughter of Edward IV ; the children of Lionel, 
Duke of Clarence; and Lady Margaret Beaufort, Henry's own mother, had prior 
claims. Indeed Henry could claim only through his mother. It is true that there 
had been no queen regnant, but Matilda had been crowned and the justice of 
her claim was admitted by the succession of her son as Henry II. 



184 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

Roses ended (1455-1485). The whole land, weary of the wars 
and bloodshed of thirty years, was ready for a change. "These 
wars were set on foot by causes not peculiar to England. They 
were part of a general European movement which was the struggle 
to end the anarchy which accompanied feudalism, and replace it 
by strong and efficient monarchies." 

The conflict had been chiefly between the great nobles supported 
by their retainers; the people, as a whole, did not take an active 
share in the struggles ; this is shown by the comparatively small 
number of men who took part in most of the battles. While the 
Wars of the Roses destroyed the old nobility, they did not prevent 
the development of the other (lasses. The social and economic 
changes, which had begun long before, continued, and the close of 
the struggle revealed the growth of the towns, the development of 
commerce and manufactures, and the advance in the condition of 
the working (lasses. It was, indeed, during this period that the 
foundations of England's commerce were securely laid, and it saw 
the beginning of that passion for material prosperity which has so 
often controlled English political action. English merchants inter- 
fere. 1 with the monopoly hitherto held by the merchants of the 
Hanseatic League, 1 and exported and imported goods themselves, 
establishing a direct and profitable trade with the Continent. At 
first these " adventures " were made by the towns, but later by in- 
dividuals or companies. In this way it came about that by the 
close of the fifteenth century almost all of England's foreign trade 
was carried on in English vessels, and a company of trained seamen 
was brought into existence. 

Naturally literature had not flourished. Though it was the time 
of the Renaissance in Italy, the movement had comparatively little 
effect upon England, for the upper classes were engrossed with 
wars, and the middle classes with a desire to increase their wealth 

iThe Hanseatic League was a powerful commercial league of German cities 
through ilu- h.inds of which most of the produce of northern Europe and Russia 
reached England. (App. I, §68.) 



SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHANGES 1 85 

and to take advantage of the new avenues for trade which were 
opening before them. The universities were still laboring under 
restrictions which had been placed upon them in the old Lollard 
days, and the church was keen against heresies. What really 
brought about a change in England was chiefly due, not to indi- 
viduals, as was the case in Italy, but rather to the introduction of 
printing, which scattered the new learning far and wide. 

t*w <£mte ftgatma agapne^c Oate^tk of t& one pat 
« <•»*/$** *f * o<§e* <£neae afcc#o fc t^m at* 

fyt ty cwmcnamtfr pe fcttpfeo am> nta«/djat tvxi 
mttf arto] Watt fegttfe for gou alte/ 

Facsimile of Part of Caxton's jEneid 

213. Printing in England; Caxton's Press. 1476. — Printing 
by means of blocks had been known in England as early as the 
time of Edward III (1350), but, as elsewhere, it did not have much 
influence. During the reign of Edward IV, William Caxton, an 
Englishman who had lived in Flanders, introduced the new method 
of printing from movable types. (App. 1, § in.) On the Conti- 
nent he had already printed in English The Game and the Play 
of Chesse. Under the patronage of Edward IV he set up his 
press in 1476 at Westminster, near where the Houses of Parlia- 
ment now are. Here he issued Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, the 
Morte d' Arthur of Malory, and many other works, for the demand 
was large. He was a translator as well as a printer, and transla- 
tions of Vergil's sEneid (from a French version), the Golden 
Legend, Sayings of the Philosophers, and other works appeared 
from his pen. He not only preserved much that otherwise might 
have been lost, but he exercised a vast influence on literature by 
bringing these works into circulation when a national literature 
was in process of formation, and helped thereby to fix the English 
language in the form in which it has survived. 



iS6 



HISTi IRY I '1 ENGLAND 



References. — Green, Short History, chap, v, § 6, chap, vi, §§ 1-3; Gardi- 
ner, Student's History, chaps. xi\-x\ii; Terry, History, Tart III, Hook I. 
chaps, vi-viii; Tout, Advanced History. Book IV, chaps, i-v; Gairdner, 
Lancaster and York, Selections and chaps. \i, xii; Traill, So, in/ England, 
vol. II, chaps, vi-vii; Adams ami Stephens. Select Documents, §§ 105-133; 
Cheyney, Readings, chap. \i; Colby, Selections, §S 44-4S; Kendall, Source- 
Book, §§ 37-43; Lee, Source-Book, §£ 9°- 10 3- 

The Tudors 

Hi \k\ ( rudor) VII 

1485- 1509 
= Elizabeth of York 



Arthur 
d. 1502 
( latnerine 
of Aragon 



Margaret 

J \MI s [V 

itland 



III NKV VIII 
' ■ '547 
itherine ol Aragon 
i 2) Anne Boleyn 
(31 fane Seymour 
(4) Anne >>i < lleves 
?5j ( ' itherine I toward 
(6) Catherine l'arr 
I 



I AMI S V 

Mary of Guise 

'I 
M \kv Queen 1 

[543-1567, d. 1587 
= (1) Francis lid Prance 
(a) Henry Stuart, (1) MARY (a) ELIZABETH 

Lord Darnley 1553-1558 1558-1603 

131 (ames, I-., "t Bothv ,., \\ 

of Spain ( 

(2) JAMES VI 0fS( Ottand / x T7 ' 

K ' J [ ol England ty ' 

= Henry l i 

D. of Suffolk 



Mary 
= (1) Louis MI 
<>f Prance 

(2) Charles 
I), of Brandon 



(3) Edward vi 
1547-1553 



Eleanor 



fane < Jrey 

: Lord Guilford Dudley 
d. 1554 



Lady ( latherine Grey 
= Lord Beauchamp 



CHAPTER XIV 
THE BEGINNING OF MODERN ENGLAND; THE TUDORS 

214. Beginning of Modern England; The Tudors. — During the 
latter part of the fifteenth century feudalism in Europe was rapidly 
disappearing, petty states were giving way before large ones, people 
and nobles were beginning to learn the advantage of unity and 
peace, and to see that the welfare of the nation was superior to 
that of any party or faction. The new movement was equally ap- 
parent in England. Men were weary of civil war, anarchy, and 
factional quarrels. Though Parliament had sought to limit the 
power of the crown, it was itself unable to rule. To escape an- 
archy the Englishman was ready to grant almost any power to " a 
firm and masterful hand." It is this fact which explains the 
almost despotic rule of the Tudors. 

215. Character of Henry VII ; His Policy. — Henry VII was a 
thrifty, almost niggardly, man, shrewd, suspicious, and cautious, 
with a cool head and far-sighted wisdom. He was reserved and 
dignified, and his tastes were both artistic and literary ; a lover of 
architecture, his magnificent memorials, the Henry VII chapel 
at Westminster Abbey and King's College chapel at Cambridge, 
show that on occasion he could spend money liberally. He was 
not fond of war, probably on account of its cost rather than from 
any higher motive, and avoided it as much as possible. He had 
that most valuable quality of a ruler — the ability to choose skillful 
advisers. 

Henry placed before himself two main objects which were 
closely connected : (i) the firm establishment of himself and his 
family upon the throne ; and (2) the destruction of the power of 
the great nobles. The first he helped greatly by his marriage 

187 



1 88 HIST! >KV OF 1 NGLAND 

with Elizabeth Woodville (§ 2 1 1 ) and by crushing two revolts of 
the Yorkist party. 

216. The Simnel and Warbeck Rebellions. 14S7-1492. — In 
1487 a man named Lambert Simnel, pretending to be the Earl of 
Warwick, whom Henry had imprisoned, set on foot a rebellion. 
The movement was begun in Ireland. He was supported by many 
in England, even by the queen's mother, Elizabeth Woodville, and 
was aided by Margaret, the widow of the Duke of Burgundy, sister 
of Edward IV, who was always ready to injure the Tudors. Henry, 
however, was prompt in meeting the insurgents, defeated them, 
took Simnel a prisoner, pardoned him, and gave him a place as 
scullion in the royal kitchen. 

Still another rebellion, far more important than that of Simnel, 
took place in 1492. This time the one personated was a son of 
Edward IV, the little Duke Richard, who had been murdered in 
the Tower (§ 209). Perkin Warbeck, this pretender, also made 
his first appearance in Ireland, and from there went to Erance, 
where he was kindly received by Charles VIII. He went next to 
Margaret of Burgundy, who not only welcomed him, but also rec- 
ognized him as her nephew. 1'erkin Warbeck was a Fleming, of 
fine presence, attractive in his manners, well educated, and suited 
to the position which he claimed. The importance of the War- 
berk conspiracy lies in the fact that it offered a chance for all of 
Henry's enemies to attack him. Ireland, Scotland, and Burgundy 
welcomed the coming of Warbeck. 

Henrv with characteristic shrewdness made a treaty with 
France, thus detaching that country from Warbeck, and later by 
removing trade privileges from the Flemings he withdrew the 
support of Burgundy. He also determined to strike at the Eng- 
lish conspirators so hard that no doubt of his purpose could be 
left in men's minds. The head of the movement appeared to be 
Sir William Stanley, whose desertion of Richard III on Bosworth 
Field contributed more than anything else to Henry's victory. 
Like many another traitor he had come to repent of his work and 



HENRY VII 



I89 




Henry VII Chapel, Westminster Abbey 

tried to undo it. Henry had him seized, tried, and executed. 
How far the evidence justified this action is not known, but the 
effect intended by the king was secured, for the Yorkist faction 
was thoroughly intimidated. 

Warbeck now made an attempt upon England from the Conti- 
nent, but being unsuccessful, he fled to Ireland, and afterwards 
to Scotland. Here he was welcomed by James IV, acknowledged 
as Edward's son, and given a wife of the nobility. After two years 



190 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



he went to Cornwall, where there was considerable disaffection 
against Henry on account of heavy taxation. Warbeck obtained 
some support, but after an unsuccessful attack upon Exeter he 
lost heart and took refuge at Beaulieu in the New Forest. He 
was captured, brought to London, and having confessed his fraud, 
was sent to the Tower. Here he was well treated, but in an 
attempt to escape, in company with Edward Plantagenet, Earl of 
Warwick, the only remaining Yorkist of the royal male line, the 
two young men were captured. Both were executed (1499). 1 
This was the last serious attempt to dispossess Henry of his throne. 

217. Henry and Ireland; Poynings Acts, 1494. — Henry, an 
active and alert man, was always alive to the needs and possibili- 
ties of his kingdom. The ease with which Simnel and Warbeck 
had gained support in Ireland showed clearly how little English 
rule amounted to in that island. Henry accordingly sent as 
deputy Sir Edward Poynings, who had been his trustworthy com- 
panion in exile. Poynings first gained control of the Pale (§§ 168, 
181) and then called an Irish Parliament, which, in obedience to 
his compulsion, passed a series of acts, known as the Poynings 
Acts (1494) : (1) that the consent of the English king and council 
was necessary for the summoning of an Irish Parliament ; (2) that 
all bills considered by an Irish Parliament must have been pre- 
viously considered by the English Parliament ; (3) that the laws 
of the English Parliament were binding upon Ireland. 2 This 
arrangement was not very successful, and Henry, recalling his 
deputy, sent back (1496) the Earl of Kildare, whom he had dis- 
placed for Poynings. 

218. Henry and the Nobles. — Henry attacked the power of 
the great English nobles by laws against the maintenance of large 
bands of retainers. These laws he was fortunately strong enough 

1 As Warwick had been in confinement since he was ten years old, he could not 
have been guilty of very serious offenses. Henry simply wished to put him out of 
the way; this was, however, Henry's only judicial murder. 

2 It should be remembered, however, that this legislation was only for those who 
lived within the limited area of the Pale, who were chiefly English. 



THE STAR CHAMBER 



I 9 I 




to enforce. One of his chief supporters at Bosworth Field (§ 210) 
was the Earl of Oxford. The king on one occasion paid him 
a visit, and when the royal 
visitor took his leave, he was 
amazed at the large retinue of 
men drawn up in his honor. 
The king said, " My lord, I 
thank you, but my attorney 
must speak to you." Oxford 
was fined ^15,000 for his 
display, a sum equivalent to 
ten times that amount at 
present values. By such ac- 
tions Henry not only secured 
large sums of- money, but at 
the same time weakened the 
power of the nobility, and 
greatly diminished the likelihood of civil war. 

219. The Star Chamber. 1487. — From very early times it was 
customary for the king to have a body of advisers known as the 
Royal Council or the Great Council. The power and functions 
of this body had varied with the varying circumstances of the 
country. At the time of Simnel's conspiracy Henry secured from 
Parliament an act which set apart five members of the Council 
and two judges whose special business was to decide upon cases 
relating to the great nobles, such as the maintaining of bands of 
retainers, or any interference with the course of justice, and to 
deal with cases which local juries or common law courts were too 
weak to handle. Complaints were heard at Westminster (London), 
and judgment, which extended to fine and imprisonment, was 
given by the court without a jury. The court sat in a room 
known as the Star Chamber, 1 and hence received that name. 



Henry VII 

After the portrait in the National 
Portrait Gallery 



1 The origin of the name of the room is uncertain. It is " so called, either be- 
cause the roof was decorated with stars, or because it was the room in which had 



192 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



That the court exercised a good influence and was popular in its 
early days is undoubted, but it afterwards became an instrument 
of tyranny (§ 369). Henry also reorganized the courts to the 
advantage and protection of the great middle classes upon whom 
he relied for his support. 

220. Henry VII and the Finances. — Henry's management of 
the finances of the country was shrewd and wise. Every source 
of income was carefully examined and made to produce as much 
as possible. Officials were held to a rigid account of receipts and 
payments, and every avenue of expenditure was closely watched 
to cut off unnecessary outlay. Henry, moreover, avoided that 
fruitful source of expense, foreign wars. Besides the regular 
methods of raising revenue he employed others, some of which, 
strictly speaking, were illegal. Among them he made use of 
benevolences 1 (§ 207). In collecting these benevolences Arch- 
bishop Morton, who was Henry's Chancellor, is said to have 
invented a new method of forcing money out of the wealthy, 
known as "Morton's Fork." 2 If a man reputed to be wealthy 
lived economically, he was told that he must have saved money, 
and therefore could afford to give to the king; on the other hand, 
a man living in fine style was told that if he could afford to live so 
handsomely he could well spare some of his wealth for the king. 
Besides this, old feudal dues were sought out and demanded ; and 
Henry even went into commerce and added to his wealth in that 
way. By this course he not only secured funds, but was enabled 
to rule without Parliament, for at this period perhaps the chief func- 
tion of Parliament was to make money grants. The fact that he 
summoned Parliament only seven times during his whole reign of 
twenty-four years indicates the success of his policy. 

been formerly kept Jewish bonds or ' starres.' " The court sometimes numbered 
among its members bishops and heads of colleges. 

1 The statute abolishing benevolences passed during the reign of Richard III 
was ignored by Henry on the ground that it was passed by a usurper (§ 209). 

- Notwithstanding tradition it is doubtful whether Morton is really to be credited 
with the invention of" the fork." 



THE BEGINNINGS OF MODERN ENGLAND 



193 



221. Henry VII and Foreign Affairs. — Henry was as careful 
in his administration of foreign affairs as in his domestic manage- 
ment. His object above everything else was to maintain peace. 
When war seemed inevitable, he was always ready to come to terms 
if such could possibly be accepted. The great powers on the con- 
tinent of Europe at this time were Spain and France. The true 
policy of England was to keep aloof and watch her opportunity to 
take advantage of the quarrels of her neighbors ; but to be in 
alliance with some continental power was thought essential. 

222. Henry VII and Foreign Marriages ; Prince Henry and 
Catherine of Aragon. 1505. — Henry strove to increase his own 
power and that of England by the marriage of his children. His 
eldest son, Arthur, was contracted to Catherine of Aragon, 
daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain (App. 1, § 89); 
and his eldest daughter, Margaret, was married to James IV 
of Scotland. 1 

Princess Catherine came to England in 1501 and was married 
to Prince Arthur, who was then about fourteen. The next year 
Arthur died, and her father and mother proposed that she should 
marry Henry's next son, Henry, who was about eleven years old, 
and six years younger than Catherine. They argued to themselves 
that Henry would never repay the half of Catherine's marriage 
portion which had already been sent, and that all that they would 
have to do would be to complete the original portion. Henry, 
fearing lest the half already received might be demanded from 
him, willingly accepted the proposition. A dispensation from the 
Pope (Julius II) was obtained (1503), but when the time for the 
betrothal arrived (1505) young Henry privately made a formal 
protest against the future marriage, doubtless instructed thereto by 
his wily father. 

223. The Renaissance in England ; Erasmus ; Colet ; More. 
— It was during Henry's reign that the revival of letters, or Ren- 

iThis marriage, through her great grandson, James VI, led to the union of the 
crowns of England and Scotland on the death of Queen Elizabeth. 



194 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



aissance, first strongly affected English life and thought. (App. i, 
§ 113.) Many young Englishmen visited Italy, the center of the 
learning, and brought back with them books and new ideas, and 
new aspirations as well. Scholarly Italians came to England with 
stimulating effect. Greek was introduced at the universities, and 
three men, Grocyn, Linacre, and Colet were all teachers of it. 
John Colet was appointed Dean of St. Paul's, London, and 
founded St. Paul's school, which still flourishes; and Linacre 
was appointed tutor to the Prince of Wales. From this time 
education took a fresh start in England. Another man to whom 
England owed much was Erasmus, a continental scholar, who 
first came to England in 149S. He resided for a time at Oxford, 
later at Cambridge and at London, and 
frequently visited England in after years, 
keeping up his friendship with the Eng- 
lish scholars. 

The flower of English culture in the lat- 
ter part of Henry's reign was Sir Thomas 
More. Colet, Erasmus, and More, known 
as the Oxford Reformers, 1 were the pio- 
neers in the advancement of learning 
and true education in England. 

224. The Cabots. 1497. — Henry, 
though a strong supporter of commerce 
and trade, declined to assist Columbus 
in his efforts to raise funds for his first 
voyage. (App. 1, § 112.) Later, how- 
ever, Henry gave John Cabot and his son 
flfe Sebastian leave to undertake a voyage 

westward and in the name of the English 
Cabot Memorial Tower , • /• 1 1 

crown to take possession of any lands 

Erected at Bristol, England, 

in memory of the first sailor that they might discover. The expedi- 

from England to visit America . .... r t-» • . 1 .1 

tion sailed in 1497 from Bristol, then 

1 So called because the movement began at Oxford with John Colet. 





THE RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 



J 95 



the second largest port of England. The Cabots reached Cape 
Breton and Labrador, thus discovering the continent of North 
America. They brought back little but the record of their dis- 
covery. An entry in the royal accounts reads, " Ten pounds to 
him that found the new Isle." In 1498 the Cabots made a 
second voyage to America, extending their explorations perhaps as 
far as Albemarle Sound. 1 The English paid little attention to 
these discoveries at the time, but later upon them based their 
claims to North America. 

225. Death of Henry VII ; Henry VIII. 1509. — Henry died 
in 1509, leaving to his son a secure throne, a full treasury, a strong 
and well-organized, though scarcely a constitutional, government, 
and a peaceful and prosperous people. No king in England for 
years had come to the throne under such favorable auspices as 
did Henry VIII. He was eighteen years old, tall, well formed, 
athletic, and an adept in all the manly sports of the day. He 
was pleasant in his manners, skilled in music, and well educated. 
Indeed " no previous king had been so well educated ; he knew 
Latin, French, Spanish, and some Greek." He sympathized with 
the new learning, and scholars and people alike rejoiced at his 
accession. Soon afterwards (1509) he married Catherine of Ara- 
gon, the widow of his brother Arthur, to whom he had been so 
long betrothed. This marriage had momentous consequences. 
Henry's reign falls into two clearly defined periods : that in which 
Wolsey was his great minister (1509-1529) ; and that in which 
Henry for the most part ruled for himself (15 29-1547). 

One of the first acts of Henry was to send to the Tower two 
men, Empson and Dudley, who had been his father's agents in 
collecting money. They were tried and convicted, not of illegally 
forcing money payments, of which they may have been guilty, 
but of conspiracy against the crown. This act was an object 

1 What part Sebastian Cabot, the son, took in these enterprises is uncertain. 
The value of money at that time was perhaps ten times as much as at present, so 
ten pounds was no small sum. 



I96 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

lesson which showed that the worst offense which could be com- 
mitted was one against the king. 

Henry enjoyed spending money as much as his father had 
delighted in hoarding it, and for the first few years of his reign 
fetes, tournaments, masquerades, balls, and the like followed one 
another rapidly. 

226. Foreign Affairs ; Rise of Wolsey. — Continental affairs 
soon began to attract Henry's attention, and in 15 n Pope Julius 
II induced him to attack France because the Pope wished to 
drive the French out of Italy. There was still in England a 
strong feeling against France, and no objection was made to 
Henry's plans ; in fact, many of the younger generation were 
more than ready for a war. Henry found a minister in Thomas 
Wolsey, one of the most interesting as well as one of the most 
able men in English history. 

Wolsey was of humble though respectable birth, 1 and afterwards 
was often reminded of his humble origin. He was a Bachelor of 
Arts of Oxford when he was but fifteen, and had risen rapidly until 
he reached the post of king's almoner. 2 Although trained for a 
churchman, he had a remarkable aptitude for diplomacy and for 
organization, which made him equally fit for the church council, 
the king's council, or the army board. He had accompanied 
Henry in an expedition to France, had gained his confidence, 
and had become his most trusted adviser. 

227. Scotland; Flodden Field, 1 5 1 3 ; France. — In 1 513, while 
Henry was in France, James IV of Scotland, notwithstanding 
the fact that Henry was his brother-in-law (§ 222), invaded the 
north of England, but his army was overthrown by the Earl of 
Surrey at Flodden Field (September 9, 15 13), and he, with the 

1 His father was reported to have been a butcher, and one of the squibs against 

his son reads: 

" Begot by butchers, but by bishops bred, 
How high his honor holds his haughty head." 
There seems to be little or no ground for this tradition, for the older Wolsey 
appears to have been a merchant or grazier of the town of Ipswich. 
- Almoner, the distributor of the king's alms or bounty. 



HENRY VIII AND LOUIS XII 



197 



flower of Scottish nobility, was slain. This took away all danger 
of a northern invasion for twenty years, as James's son was a 
child. Wolsey had not favored the Spanish alliance, though he 
had carried out Henry's wishes. Henry, however, found that 
Maximilian and Ferdinand were using him solely for their own 
advantage. Louis XII 
of France was very 
ready to come to terms 
with Henry, and, as this 
policy was in accord 
with Wolsey's views, 
an understanding was 
soon brought about. A 
marriage was arranged 
between Henry's 
younger sister, Mary, 
and Louis XII 1 (1 5 14), 
and the French also 
agreed to pay a large 
sum of money to the 
English. Unfortu- 
nately for the per- 
manence of the plans, 
Louis XII died a few months after the marriage, and was suc- 
ceeded by his cousin and son-in-law, known as Francis I. 

228. Continental Affairs; Wolsey's Policy. — The death of 
Louis broke up the alliance between France and England. 
Francis soon invaded Italy and gained a great victory (Marignano, 




Henry VIII 

After the portrait by Holbein 



1 The Princess Mary protested bitterly against this arrangement, as she wished 
to marry Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. All she could gain from her brother 
was the promise that if she married this time to please him, she might marry next 
time to please herself. After the death of Louis (1515), who was her senior by 
thirty-four years, she married Brandon while still in France, so as to give her 
brother no opportunity of going back on his word. From her was descended the 
unfortunate Lady Jane Grey (§§ 268, 269, 275). 



198 history of England 

September 13-15, 15 15). Ferdinand of Spain died early in 1516 
and was succeeded by his grandson Charles. The three most 
powerful monarchs in Furope were Charles of Spain. Francis of 
France, and Henry of England, all of them under thirty, and 
each one able and ambitious. A strife for the mastery in European 
affairs was inevitable. Wolsey's policy for England was peace, 
and to preserve this he strove to maintain what was called in later 
times " the balance of power in Europe." ' But Wolsey's plans were 
thwarted by the death of Maximilian, the Emperor of Germany 
(15 19), for Charles, Francis, and Henry immediately became 
competitors for the imperial crown. Henry had no chance, and 
doubtless was well aware of the fact, but he wished to assume an 
important position in European politics. (App. 1, § 123.) 

229. Charles of Spain elected Emperor, 15 19; Visits Henry, 
1520. — After some scheming on all sides, Charles of Spain, a 
grandson of the late emperor and of Ferdinand and Isabella, was 
chosen (June 28, 15 191 and became Charles V of the German or 
Holy Roman Empire. He was about twenty-one, and the ruler, 
real or nominal, of more extensive dominions than any one since 
Charles the Great. 2 

Wolsey strove to hold both Francis and Charles in the position 
of seeking alliance with England. Francis was readily influenced 
because he feared the great power of Charles ; and an alliance with 
Henry was desired by Charles to prevent the union of the forces 
of France and England. Wolsey, therefore, arranged that Henry 
should meet both Charles and Francis. Charles came to England 
in May, 1520, and met Henry at Canterbury. 

230. Field of the Cloth of Gold. — Henry went to France in the 
same year (1520) and met Francis near Calais. Here was a con- 
tinual round of feasting, tournaments, and the like, carried on with 
such an amount of display and magnificence that the place was 

1 The principle in this policy is " such an adjustment among sovereign states that 
no single state is in a position to interfere with the independence of the rest." 
This is often interpreted to mean " existing conditions should remain as they are." 

3 He is said to have had, by virtue of his many possessions, seventy-five titles. 



FIELD OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD 



I99 



called the Field of the Cloth of Gold. The expressions of good 
will and friendship exchanged did not amount to much, for shortly 
afterwards Henry and Charles met again, and a treaty between 
them was signed. 1 

War soon broke out and, in spite of Wolsey's efforts, England 
and Charles V formed an active alliance, an English army taking 
the field against France (1522). Henry gave as a reason for his 



"^W^^^e? 




The Field of the Cloth of Gold 
After the painting in the Royal Collection at Hampton Court Palace 

action that his commercial interests in Flanders, one of Charles's 
provinces, made the alliance necessary. Charles was successful 
in his campaign, defeating Francis and taking him prisoner at 
Pavia, Italy (February 24, 1525), 2 but, though he was victor, he 
had alienated both Henry and Wolsey by his evident duplicity. 
(App. 1, § 123.) 

231 . Wolsey at the Height of his Power. — Wolsey was now at 
the height of his power. His surroundings were magnificent; he 
had from three hundred to eight hundred attendants ; his palace 
at Hampton Court was equal to those of royalty ; and his revenue 

1 It should be remembered that Henry's wife was Charles's aunt. 

2 It was after this battle that Francis, in writing to his mother to announce his 
defeat, used an expression which has come down to us in the form, " All is lost save 
honor." 



200 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

was princely. He was Bishop of Tournai, Bishop of Lincoln, 
Archbishop of York, Cardinal of the Church, Chancellor of the 
Kingdom, and Papal Legate, all at the same time. His state and 
his manner of life went beyond even the lax morals of that day. 

Wolsey, though a high official in the church, seems to have 
looked upon the church chiefly as a useful part of state machinery. 
Still, he was well aware that some reformation of the church 
was certainly coming, and though he was opposed to Luther, he 
saw that it would be wiser to take some steps toward reforma- 
tion himself rather than have it forced upon the country. 
Accordingly, with the acquiescence of both king and Pope, he 
dissolved a number of small monasteries and applied their 
revenues to the support of education. In this way Cardinal 
College was founded (1524). which, under the name of Christ 
Church, is now the largest college at Oxford. 

Wolsey's success made for him many enemies, and their number 
was increased by his haughty manners, and by what he did both 
of his own will and by command of the king. Much of his un- 
popularity wis due to the taxation required by the French war. 

232. Wolsey and Parliament. 1523. — Wolsey was a firm 
believer in absolute monarchy, and this was one reason why he 
was able to retain the favor of Henry for so long a period, abso- 
lutism being the cardinal doctrine of all the Tudors. Hitherto 
Henry and Wolsey had avoided calling Parliaments, but now it 
seemed needful to summon a Parliament to grant funds, which 
Wolsey seems to have thought was its only function. The Par- 
liament met in 1523, but was by no means inclined to grant the 
immense sum which was demanded. Wolsey "had been so busy 
in managing emperors and kings that he had forgotten how to 
deal with his own countrymen," and most unwisely and unwarrant- 
ably entered the House of Commons in an effort to intimidate its 
members. He was met by a stubborn silence, the Commons re- 
fusing to discuss his demands in his presence. He retired in 
humiliation, and finally received only about half of the sum asked 



WOLSEY AND HIS POWER 



20I 






for. After the battle of Pavia (§ 230), money was again needed. 

but recourse was now had to a forced loan which resembled 

the old benevolences, 

and was called at that 

time "an amicable 

loan." This, like the 

previous efforts to raise 

funds, 1 was exceedingly 

unpopular, and Wolsey 

had to bear the brunt 

of the dissatisfaction, 

for it was not known 

at the time that the 

king was responsible 

for the measure, and 

Wolsey loyally took the 

blame which the selfish 

monarch was only too 

ready to shift from his 

own shoulders. 



mm 




m 






Cardinal Wolsey 



References. — Green, Short History, chap, vi, §§ 3-5; Gardiner, Student's 
History, chaps, xxiii-xxiv; Terry, History, Part III, Book II, chaps, i-ii 
(pp. 494-520); Tout, Advanced History, Book V, chaps, i-ii; Traill, Social 
England, vol. II, chap, viii; Adams and Stephens, Select Documents, §§ 134- 
143; Cheyney, Readings, chap, xii, §§ i-ii; Colby, Selections, §§51-53; 
Kendall, Source-Book, §§ 44-46. 

1 Some historians believe that forced loans were attempted before Parliament 
was summoned. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE TUDORS (Continued) 

233. Henry VIII and Catherine.— Henry had lived with Cath- 
erine for about eighteen years with apparent satisfaction. Several 
children had been born to them, but only one, the Princess Mary, 
had survived infancy. Up to this time no queen had sat upon the 
English throne, and Henry was fearful that there might be some 
trouble attending Mary's succession. He had, before 1521, re- 
moved the various possible Yorki>t claimants to the crown, but 
still the final issue was doubtful. He therefore above all things 
desired a son that the succession might be unquestioned. There 
can be little doubt that if Catherine had been the mother of a son 
that lived, the divorce would never have taken place. Political ex- 
pediency caused Henry to insist on a divorce. He was, more- 
over, growing tired of Catherine, who was much older than he, 
and his fancy was attracted by a young and pretty maid of honor 
at the court. Anne Boleyn. He therefore professed to be troubled 
with scruples concerning his marriage with Catherine, who was the 
widow of his brother Arthur (§§ 222-225). According to church 
canons such a marriage was unlawful, but a special dispensation 
of Pope Julius II had made it legal is' 222, note). The question 
was, how to persuade the present Pope, Clement VII, to revoke 
the action of his predecessor. 1 The matter was further com- 
plicated by the fact that Catherine was the aunt of the Emperor 
Charles V ; moreover, Charles had captured Rome and held the 

1 The question turned on the point as to whether Julius II was justified in grant- 
ing the dispensation ; if he was, the marriage could not be annulled; but if not, 
then the marriage was invalid, and Henry was at liberty to marry whom he pleased. 

202 



HENRY VIII AND WOLSEY 



20 




Emperor Charles V 



Pope a prisoner. The Pope needed the support of the Emperor 

on account of the Protestant Reformation, which was shaking to 

its very foundations the power of the Papacy in Germany. On the 

other hand, Clement had no wish to 

offend Henry, as under the existing 

condition of affairs in Europe his 

enmity might be a very serious thing. 
234. Wolsey and the Divorce. — 

Wolsey was a skillful diplomatist, but 

he now had to face a matter which, 

however it might end, was pretty 

sure to be his ruin. He does not 
seem at first to have known of 

Henry's desire to marry Anne Boleyn, 
and he was willing, though it was 
against his judgment, to try to gain 
the Pope's consent to a divorce. 
The Pope, whose policy was clearly that of delay, did his best to 
prolong the discussion. After about two years of diplomacy the 
Pope appointed a commission, of which Wolsey was a member, to 
sit in England (1529). Still no decision was reached. Then 
Catherine herself made an appeal to the Pope, who took the 
case into his own hands, and adjourned the trial to Rome, thus 
insuring still further delay. Henry, unaccustomed to be thwarted 
in anything, resented this treatment of a matter in which he was 
personally and passionately concerned. 

235. Henry and Wolsey; Fate of Wolsey. 1530. — Henry 
vented his wrath upon Wolsey, who was already the enemy of the 
Duke of Norfolk, Anne Boleyn's uncle, and of Anne herself. He 
was charged with violating the old Statute of Praemunire by be- 
coming papal legate, and thought it wisest to plead guilty. He 
was exiled to York and was deprived of the greater part of his 
possessions and of all of his honors and positions, except that of 
Archbishop of York. Henry's action was contemptible, for he 



204 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



had himself asked for the legatine office for Wolsey, he had prac- 
tically forced the cardinal to accept it, and it had been used for 
Henry's benefit. Wolsey knew the king too well to make the 
slightest resistance, but humbled himself before his unjust master, 
thereby probably saving his life and the few honors which were 
left him. But his enemies, fearful of his popularity in the north, 
brought against him charges of treason. He was summoned to 
London to answer these, but his health had already broken down 
under his trials and misfortunes ; he was seized with severe illness 
and died at Leicester abbey on his way to the Tower (November 
29, 1530). "Ah," he said to the officer who had him in charge, 
" had I but served God as diligently as I have served the king, 
He would not have given me over in my gray hairs. But this is 
my due reward for my pains and my study, not regarding my 
service to God but only my duty to my prince." 

236. Cranmer and Cromwell. — Henry again tried to gain per- 
mission from the Pope to accomplish his purpose. In 1530, by 
the advice of Thomas Cranmer, afterwards Archbishop of Canter- 
bury (!? 240), he appealed to the universities of Europe to give 
an opinion as to whether the Pope had power to legalize a 
marriage with a brother's widow. As might have been expected, 
the universities took their time, and when their decision was given 
it was so evidently the result of royal bribery 1 that the Pope 
remained unmoved by it. Nearly three years had now passed, 
and by the advice of a new counsellor, Thomas Cromwell, Henry 
resolved to take things into his own hands. Cromwell, who had 
been a follower of Wolsey, was, like him, an unscrupulous states- 
man. Though of humble birth he had great ability ; he also was 
a firm believer in absolute monarchy, and his policy was more 
daring than that of the cardinal had been. 

237. Parliament of 1529. — Up to this time Henry had ruled 
practically without Parliaments ; now he made a total change in 
his policy. A Parliament was called in 1529 and it sat continu- 

1 Bribery was a recognized weapon of diplomacy. 



HENRY VIII AND PARLIAMENT 



205 



ously for seven years. 1 It is one of the most important Parlia- 
ments in English history. No previous Parliament had been the 
author of such momentous legislation, and few if any succeeding 
Parliaments have equaled it. It severed the bonds which united 
England to Rome ; it 
established the Na- 
tional Church ; it dis- 
solved the smaller 
monasteries ; it fixed 
the articles of reli- 
gious belief ; it settled 
the succession to the 
crown ; it greatly in- 
creased the royal 
authority; it abridged 
the liberties of the 
subjects ; it united 
Wales and England • 
it passed various 
economic acts of 
far-reaching effect j 

and it dealt with many important social problems. Henry, wiser 
than Wolsey, who would have abolished Parliament, contrived that 
his Parliaments should follow his lead. He thus gained the ap- 
pearance of acting in accord with the wish of the people, and 
yet had his own way all the time. 

238. Henry breaks with Rome. 1532. — Failing to get the 
Pope to do as he desired (§ 234), Henry resolved to break with 
the Roman church. The times were propitious for such an act. 
Englishmen had never liked foreign influence in the country ; the 
clergy were wealthy, and there had been undoubted abuses ; and 
in England the church had lost much of its hold on all classes. 
Henry was also eager to get hold of the riches of the clergy. 

1 Heretofore Parliament had not sat more than a year without a new election. 




Thomas Cranmer 



206 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

Lollardry was by no means extinct, and there is little doubt that the 
new learning had its effect in arousing a feeling against the church. 

It was probably Cromwell who first urged Henry to break with 
the church. Moving more slowly than Cromwell advised, Henry 
first denied the power of the Pope to issue any dispensation ; then 
he called upon Parliament to reform abuses in the church, and 
sent the petition it framed to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who 
in turn called upon his bishops to reply. The answer of the 
bishops showed how little they understood either the times they 
lived in or the king, for they not only said in effect that they ac- 
knowledged no authority in regard to their laws other than the 
Bible and the Catholic church, but went even farther, and advised 
the king "to temper his laws in conformity with these." 

239. Charges against the Clergy ; Henry Supreme Head of the 
Church. 1532. — This position gave Henry his chance, of which 
he was not slow to avail himself. He induced Parliament to de- 
clare that the clergy themselves, by the recognition of Wolsey as 
papal legate, had become guilty of a breach of the Statute of 
Praemunire, and were therefore liable to a confiscation of all their 
goods. It was a discreditable charge from beginning to end, for, 
as the king himself had authorized Wolsey to be legate, if the 
clergy had refused to obey Wolsey at the time, they would have 
been punished by royal command. The Convocations ' of Canter- 
bury and York offered to buy their pardon for ^118,000, equiva- 
lent at present values to about ten times that amount ; but Henry 
refused unless they would acknowledge him as "the singular (sole) 
protector and only supreme governor of the English church." 
The convocation could not agree to this statement ; but at last 
Archbishop Warham suggested the phrase " so far as the laws of 
Christ permit, its supreme head." The clergy were forced to 
submit. The words were skillfully chosen, for while they did not 
ostensibly attack the papal authority, they could, if needful, be in- 
terpreted to the Pope's great disadvantage. Henry, however, was 

1 Convocation, the representative assembly of the clergy. 



HENRY VIII AND THE CHURCH 



207 



not satisfied even with this, and later the convocations were forced 
to sign a "Submission of the Clergy," by which they agreed not 
to meet in convocation, or pass any canons * except by the king's 
permission (1532). 

240. "Annates" held back, 1532; Cranmer Archbishop, 
1533. — Henry now felt himself in a favorable position to deal with 
the Pope, though he had no wish to come into unnecessary con- 
flict with him, and so when Parliament passed an act requiring 
the bishops to hold back the " Annates," or " first fruits," as they 
were called, which were annually sent to Rome, he did not sign 
the bill until he was satisfied that Pope Clement would not give 
his sanction to the divorce of Catherine. Henry also secured 
from Parliament the declaration that no appeals should be made to 
outside authority, a proceeding which was in accord with the 
popular feeling. Henry could now do as he pleased. Meantime 
the Archbishop of Canterbury (William Warham) had died, and 
Henry had appointed Thomas Cranmer in his place (1533). 
Cranmer was of good family and had great intellectual ability, but 
was inclined to yield to a stronger will, a fact which justly laid 
him open to the charge of vacillating conduct. 

241. Henry marries Anne Boleyn. 1533 (?). — Henry him- 
self ended the long struggle by a secret marriage with Anne 
Boleyn. 2 In 1533 Convocation was practically forced to declare 
that Henry's marriage with Catherine was illegal, and so when the 
question came before Cranmer, sitting in his episcopal court, he 
pronounced that marriage void. The secret marriage with Anne 
Boleyn was then announced, and on June 1, 1533, she was crowned 
queen by Cranmer in great state in Westminster Abbey. Parlia- 
ment also passed an act fixing the succession on the children of 
Anne, and disinheriting Mary, the daughter of Catherine. On 



1 Ecclesiastical laws. 

2 The date is uncertain, some think it was in November, 1532, others in Janu- 
ary, 1533. Anne was the daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn, and was born in 1507. 
She was therefore about twenty-six years old, and Henry about forty-two. 



208 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

September 7, 1533, Anne gave birth to a daughter, who lived to be 
the renowned Queen Elizabeth. 

242. Act of Supremacy; Final Break with Rome. 1534. — 
Meantime Pope Clement had declared the marriage with Catherine 

and threatened Henry with excommunication if he did not 
take her back. As there was no hope of influencing the Pope, 
1 lenry determined to break definitely with Rome. He accordingly 
secured from his subservient Parliament a succession of acts, includ- 
ing the great Act of Supremacy, 1 which completed the separation. 
For the most part this legislation was received by the people 
without any especial objection. There was for them little prac- 
tical alteration in the substitution of the king for the Pope, and 
no change was made in the doctrines to which they were accus- 
tomed. There were, however, many to whom the change meant 
much. The Carthusian monks of London dared to make a pro- 
test, and twelve of them wire put to death as a warning to Others. 1 

243. Execution of Sir Thomas More and Bishop Fisher. 
1535. — The noblest victim of the new regime was Sir Thomas 
More, the Oxford reformer, the exemplar of the new learning. 
He had been Speaker of the House of Commons, and on the fall 
of VVolsey had been made Chancellor of the Kingdom, an office 
which he had resigned just before Henry began his attack on the 
church. Sir Thomas More and John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, 
both of whom had formerly been personal friends of the king, 
would not take the oath of succession because it involved the 
acknowledgment of the illegality of Catherine's marriage. They 
offered to take any oath regarding the succession Parliament might 

1 The Act of Supremacy (1534) declared " that the king our sovereign lord, his 
heirs and successors, kings of this realm, shall be taken, accepted, and reputed the 
only supreme head on earth of the Church of England, called Anglicaiia Ecclesia, 
. . ." and shall have " full power to repress, redress, reform, order, correct, restrain, 
and amend all such errors, heresies, abuses, contempts, and enormities, whatso- 
ever they may be, . . . any usage, custom, foreign authority, prescription, or any 
other thing or things to the contrary notwithstanding." 

2 Three of them were hanged, the rest were " chained to posts in a noisome 
dungeon where they were left to perish of jail fever and starvation." 



HENRY VIII AND THE CHURCH 



209 



require, provided the question of the marfiage was omitted, but 

this being the important point in Henry's mind, he imprisoned the 

two men in the Tower. In 1535, on tneir refusal to acknowledge 

the Act of Supremacy, 

they were executed, and 

their heads were set up 

on London Bridge. 
Fisher had been the 

father confessor of Lady 

Margaret Beaufort, the 

mother of Henry VII, 

and had been a faithful 

follower of the Tudors 

ever since that time. He 

was a scholar and a friend 

of the new learning ; he 
was an upright man and 
one whose influence had 
always been for righteous- 
ness. 

More was perhaps the 
greatest ornament of Henry's reign. He was the author of Utopia, 
and was not only one of the most learned men of his time, but 
also a keen observer of human nature. His ready wit did not fail 
him at the last. " I pray you," he said, as he ascended the scaffold, 
" see me safe up, and for my coming down I will shift for myself." 
Again, after he laid his head upon the block, he moved his beard 
aside, saying, " Pity that should be cut that has not committed 
treason." * 

244. Thomas Cromwell; The Monasteries. 1535. — In 1535 
Thomas Cromwell, though a layman, was appointed Vicar-General 
of the kingdom. Cromwell, while a follower of Wolsey, had seen 
something of the workings of many of the monasteries throughout 

1 Sir Thomas More was fifty-seven years old, and Bishop Fisher seventy-six. 




Sir Thomas More 



2IO HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

the country, but he had probably seen their worst side. His stead- 
fast purpose to make the king sole ruler could be furthered by at- 
tacking these institutions, and he proceeded to do so without pity. 
The monasteries were wealthy, and Henry wanted money ; where 
could it be obtained more easily than by despoiling them? It 
was not hard to persuade Henry to a course that promised to be 
his advantage, and he quickly fell in with the idea. 

Cromwell saw that there must be some apparent justification 
for the radical measures which he proposed, and so a commission 
was sent out to investigate the condition of the monasteries and 
abbeys. As might be supposed, a commission sent out to dis- 
cover abuses would be very sure to find them. The report was, 
in fact, precisely what was desired. The condition of the largest 
institutions was reported as fairly good, but that of the smaller 
ones as very bad. 

245. First Dissolution of Monasteries. 1536. — Parliament 
accepted the report and abolished those monasteries possessing 
less than a certain income. The number thus suppressed was 
376 ; their estates were confiscated to the crown, and the inmates 
were allowed to choose between entering the largest establish- 
ments 1 or abandoning the monastic life; to those choosing the 
latter course a small pension was allowed. A special court was 
established to deal with questions arising from this dissolution of 
the monasteries, as it was called. 

It is probably true that in some of the monasteries abuses and 
indolence did exist, but that this condition was general can hardly 
be believed. The monks as a rule were reasonably easy landlords, 
and hospitable to the stranger and the needy. On the other hand, 
the monastic system had outlived its usefulness in England, and 
had become injurious to the country. Enormous riches were 
locked up in the hands of the abbots, out of the reach alike of 

1 The establishments belonged chiefly to monks of the Benedictine, Cistercian, 
and Cluniac orders. About two thousand monks and nuns were turned out, and 
in all, counting attendants, about ten thousand people were dispossessed of 
homes and employment. 



DISSOLUTION OF MONASTERIES 



21 I 




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English Monasteries cIissolved by Henry VIII 

the state and of the community ; a large number of men kept 
in seclusion were of little advantage to themselves or to anybody 
else ; furthermore, the abbeys and monasteries were no longer 
centers of learning and schools of industry, as they had been three 
centuries earlier. Had Henry and Cromwell based their action on 
the comparative uselessness of the monasteries and the hindrance 



212 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

they were to the development of the country, and had they taken 
measures to dissolve them in a just manner, providing systematically 
for the support of the dispossessed monks during life, they would 
have acted more nearly in accordance with fairness and honesty. 

246. Second Dissolution of Monasteries begun, 1538; Economic 
and Political Effects. — The dissolution of the larger monasteries 
was begun in 1538 ; some abbots were persuaded to surrender 
their buildings and property on the promise of grants for their 
maintenance, for they knew that refusal meant loss of everything ; 
but others stood out. In 1539 Parliament passed an act dissolving 
all monasteries. 1 Abbots who resisted were hanged without mercy, 
buildings were torn down, and the lead, glass, and stone sold for 
building materials; shrines were despoiled of gold and jewels, 
graves were ransacked, and even libraries were destroyed. Among 
the shrines thus despoiled was that of St. Thomas a Becket at 
Canterbury, the richest and most popular in England. 1 By 1540 
it is estimated that eight thousand persons belonging to establish- 
ments had been turned adrift, and ten times as many thrown out 
of employment. The wealth thus acquired was applied mainly in 
such a way as to benefit Henry, and that it was shrewdly distributed 
was shown at a later date. Part of it went to establish new 
bishoprics, and a few grammar schools ;' a part was spent in forti- 
fications on the seacoast ; a part was turned into the royal treasury, 
and large sums were bestowed on men whom Henry had called 
around him to form a new nobility 1 which would be friendly to him 
and be a set-off against such of the old nobility as had survived the 
■Wars of the Roses. Of the land belonging to the monasteries a 
large part was sold to the small landholders near the monasteries 

1 The total number of religious establishments of all kinds, large and small, 
which were suppressed has been stated at 3219, with an annual income at present 
values of about J5 10,000,000. 

- The bones of the martyr were taken from the shiine, burnt, and then scattered 
abroad. 

3 These foundations were little more than a blind to turn attention from the real 
facts. 

4 Among these were the Cecils, Cavendishes, Dudleys, Russells, and Seymours. 



ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL EFFECTS 213 

at low prices. To such an extent was this done that when, in the 
reign of Mary, a proposition was made to restore the monasteries, 
it was said that more than twenty thousand families protested 
against the scheme, and so it had to be abandoned (§ 271). 

The change of ownership brought about a decided change in the 
method of renting the land. Under the monasteries the whole or 
part of the stock on a farm was leased with the land ; the new 
owners sold the stock, and raised the money rent. The result 
was that the poorer tenants were almost ruined. From this date 
pauperism increased, and so, as there were no monasteries to give 
relief, it had to be provided by the state or local authorities. 

An important political result of Henry's action was the removal 
of the abbots from the House of Lords. This greatly diminished 
not only the size of that house, but, what was of more importance, 
the influence of the church in it ; the royal power, by control of 
elections to the lower house, was also increased, and from that time 
to this the lay members have always been largely in the majority. 
The political revolt from Rome was at last fully accomplished. 

247. Pilgrimage of Grace. 1536— 1537. — That the radical 
measures of Henry and his prime minister should arouse oppo- 
sition was to be expected, and various symptoms of unrest showed 
themselves. In 1536 there was a rising in some of the northern 
counties, which were more strongly Catholic in their sympathies 
than were those in the south. It was a protest against the anti- 
Catholic movements and legislation, especially the dissolution 
of the monasteries. In addition there were, as the result of a 
period of change, social and economic reasons for the rising, such 
as land enclosures, the enforced removal of many suits at law to 
Westminster, and other grievances. There was no talk of over- 
turning established institutions, or the king, or Parliament. In 
fact it was a desire to return to the old ways. This rebellion was 
called the "pilgrimage of Grace," 1 and was marked by wonder- 

1 " Pilgrimage of Grace," so called because the malcontents declared they would 
go on a pilgrimage to the king at London to state their grievances. 



214 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



fully few outrages, considering the times and the ignorance of 
the common people who took part in it. 

Henry sent the Duke of Norfolk to quell the rising. He made 
terms with the malcontents, promising, on the king's behalf, redress 
of certain grievances. The insurgents dispersed, but later < 1537) 
risings took place in other places, and believing they had been 
deceived, those who had yielded to Norfolk rose again. This 
time 1 lenry, who possibly did not intend to keep his former prom- 
ises, bad no mercy. He sent orders to Norfolk to execute a suffi- 
cient number of the rebels thoroughly to intimidate the others. 
All classes, from the poorest peasants to great nobles and church- 
men, had taken part in this uprising, and the punishment fell 
heavily upon all. This rising also brought about a political change 
in the north, for heretofore the northern counties of Northumber- 
land, Cumberland, Westmoreland, Durham, and York had not 
been technically incorporated with England, but had been largely 
under the control of powerful barons. Now Henry organized the 
Council of the North, under whose control he placed this district. 1 

248. Death of Catherine; Execution of Anne Boleyn, 1536; 
Jane Seymour; Prince Edward, 1537. — Meantime two important 
events had occurred. Catherine of Aragon, the unfortunate 
divorced wife of I lenry, died early in 1536. Henry by this time 
had become tired of Anne Boleyn and wished to get rid of her. 
She was accordingly accused of gross immorality, was tried by a 
court of peers over which her own uncle presided, and though she 
strenuously denied the charges, she was pronounced guilty and 
was beheaded.-' Anne was executed (May 19, 1536), and the fol- 
lowing day Henry married Jane Seymour. The next year a son, 

1 There was already a system of councils, but Henry so reorganized its powers 
that the Council of the North was practically a new body. It lasted until the Civil 
War, 1641 (§ 369). 

2 There is no doubt that Anne was indiscreet in her conduct, and that she was 
arrogant, and even insolent, but that she was guilty of the crimes of which she was 
accused can scarcely be believed. In her trial no witnesses were summoned 
against her, nor did she have any counsel for her defense. All her alleged partners 
in guilt denied the charges, except one, and he confessed only under torture. 



HENRY VIII'S MARRIAGES 215 

afterwards Edward VI, was born, and Henry had at last the heir 
so long wished for, but unfortunately Jane died a few days after 
the birth of her son. About Edward's right to succeed there 
could be no question, for both Catherine and Anne were dead 
before his father's marriage to Jane Seymour. 1 

249. Ten Articles of Religion. 1536. — The break with Rome 
was followed by results that were far-reaching. Neither Henry 
nor his advisers, not even Cromwell himself, could have expected 
such great changes as quickly came after the rupture with Rome. 
While Henry's personal interests had much influence, there were 
other forces at work at the same time. The great movement 
known as the Protestant Reformation, which was taking place on 
the continent of Europe under Luther and his supporters, had its 
effect ; the new learning made many thoughtful men unwilling to 
accept doctrines on simple authority ; and, moreover, the prevail- 
ing feeling of the day was one of restlessness and discontent. In 
the eventful year 1536 the English clergy, recognizing the growing 
dissatisfaction in regard to the church, had in convocation drawn 
up and published ten articles. In these it was stated among other 
things that the Bible and the three creeds — the Apostles', the 
Nicene, and the Athanasian — were the sole authority for matters 
of faith. 

250. Tyndale's Bible, 1526; Coverdale's, 1538. — The natural 
result of referring to the Bible as authority was to create a demand 
for copies of the book. An English translation had been made by 
William Tyndale several years before this time, but Henry himself 
had prohibited its use. Now he authorized a revision of this 
translation by Miles Coverdale, and in 1538 ordered that a copy 
should be placed in every parish church. 

William Tyndale had been a student at Oxford and at Cam- 
bridge, and had been deeply stirred by the Greek New Testament 

1 The suspicious king could not rest satisfied after his marriage to Jane Sey- 
mour, but obtained an act from his ready Parliament fixing the succession to the 
crown in Jane's children, and declaring also that Mary and Elizabeth were illegiti- 
mate. 



2l6 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



which had been issued by Erasmus (1516). From that time Tyn- 
dale had one thought closely at heart. " If God spares my life," he 

said to a noted churchman, 
" I will cause a boy that 
driveth the plow shall know 
more of Scripture than thou 
dost." Tyndale's first transla- 
tion of the Bible, which was 
introduced into England in 
1526, was denounced as he- 
retical. A pile of these Prot- 
estant books was burned be- 
fore Wolsey in St. Paul's 
churchyard ; but in spite of 
royal decrees, copies of Tyn- 
dale's translation were circu- 
lated throughout England and 
eagerly studied by persons of 
all classes. Coverdale's re- 
vision 1 and the king's sanction 
brought the book into still 
greater prominence and favor, 
but it was too late for its 
author to see his dream come 
true. After years of persecution on the Continent, whither he had 
gone to continue his work, Tyndale was imprisoned for heresy 
and cruelly put to death in 1536. 

251. Religious Reaction; The Six Articles of Faith, 1539; 
Plot against Henry. — All this agitation led to some reaction, and 
so when the Parliament came together in 1539 a movement was 

1 On the title-page of what was really a revised edition in 1539, known as the 
Great Bible, there is a woodcut, thought to be designed by the great artist Holbein, 
representing Henry seated on his throne and giving the Bible with his right hand 
to the clergy and with his left hand to the laity. Thus Henry is represented as tak- 
ing the place of the Pope. 




Chained Bible in the Chirch of 
St. Crux, York 



RELIGIOUS REACTION 21 J 

made to check, if not to control, the tendency toward Protestant- 
ism. Accordingly six Articles of Faith were drawn up, setting 
forth doctrines which must not be called into question, and severe 
penalties for their violation were prescribed. These represented 
the conservative element. On the whole the convictions under 
these articles were comparatively few, as both Cromwell and 
Cranmer disapproved of them and had opposed their adoption. 

Henry was not exempt from plots to dispossess him of the 
throne. The line of Edward IV was extinct, and a conspiracy, in 
which the exiled Reginald Pole J and other members of the family 
were concerned, was discovered in 1538. Henry, like all the 
Tudors, was relentless where personal interests were in question. 
He caused two of the leaders in the plot to be beheaded and the 
aged Countess of Salisbury to be confined in the Tower. Two 
years later she was executed (1541). The character of the plot 
and the evidence against the conspirators are but little known. 

252. Cromwell's Loss of Prestige ; Anne of Cleves. 1539-1540. 
— Henry's quarrel with Rome had not been due to religious con- 
viction, but to religious expediency, and to a determination to 
have his own way. He did not share Cromwell's leaning toward 
Protestantism, and he was quite willing to let the church remain 
as it had been, provided his own authority could be substituted 
for that of the Pope. With this point of view many Englishmen 
were ready to agree. 

There had always been more or less jealousy of Cromwell's 
political influence. His interest in Protestantism now led him to 
attempt an alliance against the Emperor, Charles V. To further 
this end he brought about a marriage between Henry and Anne of 
Cleves, a German princess, whom the king had never seen. When 
his bride was presented to him Henry was greatly disappointed in 
her appearance, and, though the marriage was celebrated, it was 

1 Reginald Pole was the son of Margaret, Countess of Salisbury, a niece of 
Edward IV. Reginald Pole became Archbishop of Canterbury under Mary 
(§§ 278, 283). 



2l8 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

almost immediately annulled. Cromwell's influence with the king 
had suffered a fatal blow. 

253 Fall of Cromwell. 1540. — Meantime, even before the 
marriage with Anne, the main object of an alliance — a league 
against Charles — had been made unattainable by the temporary 
reconciliation of the Emperor with Francis and some of the 
Protestant princes. Cromwell had thus failed in his policy as 
well as in his plans regarding the king's marriage. Henry vented 
his wrath upon his prime minister. Many of the nobility hated 
the " upstart," and carried out their share in his punishment with 
pleasure. Within a week after the divorce of Anne, a bill of at- 
tainder against Cromwell was passed by Parliament, and without 
having been given the opportunity to speak a word in his own 
defense, he was executed (July 28, 15 [6). 

Severe as Cromwell was, and questionable as not a few of his acts 
had been, he either carried out or confirmed three revolutionary 
< banges in England, which were : (1) reform in the Church of 
England; (2) putting an end to the power of the Pope in Eng- 
land ; (3) and transferring the power which had formerly belonged 
to the Pope to the English crown. All this had been accomplished 
without war either at home or abroad, a result which no other 
nation of that period was able to attain. 

254. Henry rules Alone ; Catherine Howard and Catherine 
Parr. — For the rest of his reign Henry ruled without any prime 
minister. In the year of Cromwell's downfall (1540) Henry mar- 
ried his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, a cousin of Anne Boleyn. 
Before two years had passed Henry discovered that she had been 
guilty of improper conduct before her marriage, and by a bill of 
attainder she was condemned, and afterwards beheaded. The next 
year (1542) Henry married his sixth and last wife, Catherine 
Parr, a young widow, who managed to outlive him. 1 

1 The following lines serve to tell the story of the fate of Henry's wives : — 

" Divorced, beheaded, died, 
Divorced, beheaded, survived." 



HENRY VIII AND IRELAND 



219 




255. Henry VIII and Ireland. — In addition to the dangers 
threatening Henry from the Continent, he was always liable to 
attacks from Ireland and Scotland, and also to domestic irrita- 
tions stirred up from time to time by his continental enemies. 
Ireland was in about the same condition as it had been under 
Henry's predecessors. Beyond the English Pale (§§ 168, 181), 



2 20 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

the native chiefs, with no idea of union for common benefit, 
fought among themselves, and were also always ready to aid 
France or Scotland, as the case might be. The House of York 
had been popular in Ireland, and it will be remembered that both 
Warbeck and Simnel (§ 216) had found support there. After the 
era of Sir Edward Poynings and the passage of the Poynings Acts 
(§ 217) there was comparative quiet for a time, but the normal 
condition of unrest soon returned. There were endless quarrels 
between the Butlers, who were headed by the Karl of Ormonde, 
and the Geraldines or Fitzgeralds, who were led by the Earls of 
Kildare and Desmond. Several attempts had been made to 
preserve order, but these had been failures, partly because no 
systematic policy was followed, and partly because of the willful 
misunderstanding of the Irish character, or the ignoring of it. 

In 1533 a rebellion broke out, headed by a Lord Thomas 
Fitzgerald. After considerable difficulty this was put down, and 
the leader and live of his uncles were hanged as traitors. An 
attempt was now made to force reformatory measures in the 
church of Ireland. It is likely that the upper classes cared little 
about the matter, but the great mass of the population were 
strongly Catholic and deeply resented the measures which were 
taken. Nearly everything that had occurred in England was re- 
peated in Ireland. Monasteries were broken up and their prop- 
erty seized ; shrines were despoiled and their ornaments and 
wealth carried off; relics and images, which were regarded with 
veneration by the people, were ruthlessly destroyed ; and English- 
speaking priests were placed in charge of the churches. These 
proceedings were not confined to the Pale, but wherever practi- 
cable were forced upon the Irish outside. The result was that a 
vast amount of ill feeling was needlessly and cruelly stirred up. 

By a Parliament held in Dublin (1542) Henry was acknowledged 
to be king of Ireland ; hitherto he had borne the title Lord of 
Ireland, which had been granted to Henry II by Pope Adrian IV 
(1154) (§ 70). The new title showed his independence of the 



HENRY VIII AND SCOTLAND 221 

Pope. This Irish Parliament is interesting, as it was the first in 
which the native chiefs took part. Henry gave these chiefs Eng- 
lish titles, and tried to gain their support by bestowing on them 
the spoils of the monasteries, and he succeeded in keeping them 
quiet for the few remaining years of his reign. 

256. Henry VIII and Scotland. — The plan of Henry VII in 
marrying his eldest daughter, Margaret, to James IV (§ 222) had 
not proved very successful in bringing about a better feeling 
between England and Scotland. James V during his minority 
had been much under the influence of the I'rench party in Scot- 
land. They were friendly to the clergy, who were bitterly opposed 
to the reforming policy of Henry VIII. The consequence was 
that the young king joined the French party and married, first, 
Magdalen, daughter of the French king, then, after her early death, 
Mary of Guise, a member of a powerful family in France. Henry's 
overtures of friendship to James were not kindly received. Shortly 
after the death of Cromwell, England's relations with France 
became greatly strained, and Henry, conscious that he might be 
attacked from Scotland, determined to anticipate the blow and 
strike himself. In 1542 the Duke of Norfolk crossed the border 
and ravaged the Scottish lands. An army which James sent under 
an incompetent general against Norfolk was terribly defeated at 
Sol way Moss, and for a time the danger from Scotland was 
removed. James V was so distressed at the tidings of defeat that 
he was seized with illness and died. A few days before his death 
word was brought to him that his wife had given birth to a daugh- 
ter. " Ah," he said, thinking of the Scottish crown, " it came 
with a lass, and it will go with a lass." 1 This daughter was she 
who is known the world over as Mary Queen of Scots. 

257. Henry VIII and France. 1543-1546. — In 1543 the long- 
looked for war with France broke out. Henry had made friends 

1 Marjory, daughter of Robert Bruce I, married Walter Stuart; her son, Robert 
II (1371-1390), brought the crown of Scotland into the Stuart family. See genea- 
logical table, page 135. 



222 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

again with the Emperor Charles V, who did not let Henry's treat- 
ment of his aunt, Catherine of Aragon, stand in the way when any- 
thing was to be gained. Henry sent troops to aid Charles and 
himself took the field against Boulogne. Charles, finding it to his 
advantage to make peace with France, deserted Henry and left 
him to fight his battles alone. The English king was successful in 
taking and holding Boulogne, which enabled him to make better 
terms than would otherwise have been possible. The useless war 
came to an end in 1 546. 

258. Domestic Affairs. — Henry now turned his attention to 
home affairs. The war had been expensive and the finances of 
the country were in a had way. When 1 Ienry ascended the throne, 
he was free from debt and wealthy, but the vast stores accumu- 
lated by his father, Henry VII, had all been squandered, together 
with the wealth acquired by the dissolution of the monasteries and 
the spoliation of the church. Henry had to do something and 
he was ready to do almost anything. Parliament relieved him 
from the necessity of paving a loan which had been contracted 
some time before ; a benevolence levied in 1545 helped him some- 
what ; but to benefit himself still further he followed the dangerous 
plan of debasing the coinage. 1 Twice he reduced the amount of 
silver in the coins, and paid his debts with the money of the 
same nominal value, but really of much less worth. The result on 
the business of the country was disastrous, as such expedients 
must always be, though the full effect was not felt for some time. 
The cost of the necessities of life more than doubled, while wages 
increased little more than half, thus making a heavy burden fall 
on the working classes, who were least able to bear it. The effects 
of the debasing of the coinage also fell heavily on the landowners, 
and on the commercial (lass as well, for the continental mer- 
chants would not take the debased English coins in payment 
for goods or in settlement of debts. 

1 Henry reduced the value of the coins more than one half. The full value of the 
coinage was not restored until the reign of Elizabeth. 



RIVAL PARTIES IN THE STATE 



223 



259. An English Prayer Book; Rival Parties; Death of 
Henry. 1547. — Meantime there had been a reaction in religious 
matters, and in 1543 Bishop Gardiner had forbidden the reading 
of the Bible to " husbandmen, artificers, and journeymen, and to 
all women except gentlewomen." In 1544 Archbishop Cranmer, in 
directing prayers to be offered for Henry and the English armies be- 
fore Boulogne, ordered that they should be said in English so that all 
might understand them. In the same year he composed in English 
that part of the church service known as the Litany, and he also 
issued a small book of private prayer in English. These were the 
foundation of what is now known as the Book of Common Prayer. 

There were two parties in the state — the conservative, headed 
by the Duke of Norfolk, his son Henry Howard, the poet, and 
Bishop Gardiner ; and the radical, or Protestant, headed by 
Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, brother of Queen Jane 
Seymour, and by John Dudley. The latter party was supported 
by Archbishop Cranmer. 

Henry's health had been failing for some time ; he had grown 
extremely stout, and so weak that he was not able even to sign 
his name, but was compelled to use a stamp in signing documents. 
As Henry felt his life drawing to a close he wished to make the 
succession of his son as secure as possible, and believing that the 
interests of the little king would be safest in the hands of his 
uncle, Edward Seymour, resolved to put the other claimants to 
the throne out of the way. The Duke of Norfolk and his son, 
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, 1 were arrested on a charge of 
treason, and the earl was executed ; his father was to have been 
executed the next week, but Henry died before he could sign the 
bill of attainder, and the duke remained in prison. 

1 Surrey in addition to some frivolous charges was accused of quartering the 
royal arms on his shield. This he had a right to do, as he was undoubtedly of 
royal descent, but his action was exceedingly ill-advised under such a king as 
Henry. Surrey was a highly educated man and one of England's truest poets. 
He introduced blank verse into English literature, and was one of the earliest 
English poets to use the form of the Italian sonnet. 



224 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

260. Character of Henry VIII ; His Achievements. — Few 
kings of England have provoked more discussion than Henry 
VIII. For many years the attention of readers and students was 
so centered on his bad qualities and evil deeds that his ability 
and his real achievements were overlooked. He was coarse, 
hard, selfish, revengeful, false when it suited his purpose, deter- 
mined to have his own way, and unscrupulous in attaining it. On 
the other hand, he was clear-headed, far-sighted, courageous, and 
intelligent ; in matters of public interest he knew exactly what he 
wanted, and, what was of far more importance, was rarely mis- 
taken in his judgment of how far he could go. He was, like his 
daughter Elizabeth, an admirable judge of public opinion. It is 
this fact which explains what would otherwise be so singular, that 
until the latter part of his reign he was popular. 

Henry VIII succeeded in almost everything he undertook, and 
very much of what he did, or what was done with his approval, 
remains. Among other things, as has been seen, he destroyed 
the monasteries ; he severed England from Rome ; he set up a 
state church ; he completed the union between England and 
Wales ; he helped to develop Parliament. 

More than preceding monarchs Henry recognized the value of 
commerce. He made navigation of the great rivers free, suppress- 
ing tolls and removing other hindrances. He improved the 
harbors, in one instance at least, at his own expense ; though he 
did not found the Royal Navy, he was the first to organize it into 
a separate department. He encouraged foreign trade and vigor- 
ously repressed piracy. He built larger ships for the navy, and 
The Great Harry, a four-master, finished in 1515, was consid- 
ered a maritime wonder. It was in her that Henry crossed the 
Channel to meet Francis I at the Field of the Cloth of Gold 
(§ 230). 

While the important social, religious, and political changes of 
his reign can only in some measure be ascribed to him, yet it 
must be said that, had he chosen, he could have postponed the 



CHARACTER OF HENRY VIII 



225 



progress of England perhaps for another generation. It should be 
remembered that Henry had no standing army, and, except in 
the case of the Pilgrimage of Grace, that force was not used to 
settle domestic troubles. It was not needed because, on the 
whole, Henry represented what was the feeling of the majority 
of the people. 
His success can be 
explained in no 
other way. 

The only thing 
which can be said 
for Henry on the 
moral side is, that 
we have no reason 
to suppose that he 
was much worse 
than his contem- 
poraries. He did 
openly what others 
did secretly. The 
peculiar circum- 
stances of his posi- 
tion brought his 
vices into light and 

kept them there, while those of others were excused or ignored, 
and have been forgotten. 

The rule of the age was not principle or religion, but expe- 
diency. This governed everything in the state, and to a very 
large extent in the church, also. When this fact is understood, 
many things become clear. Henry was no better than his age, 
and expediency and pleasure ruled his life. But after all has 
been said that can be said, Henry remains one of the most 
immoral kings that England has known. 1 

1 William Rufus, John, and Charles II probably were worse than he. 




Ship of the Navy of Henry VIII 
After an old print 



2 26 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

261. The English Reformation; the Succession. — In Henry's 
reign was accomplished the break from Rome known as the English 
Reformation. 1 This movement, of such great import to England, 
differed greatly from similar movements on the Continent. " It was 
from above, not from below ; royal, not popular ; political, not 
doctrinal ; gradual, not revolutionary." It was part of Henry's 
policy of expediency. One result of the course in England was 
that the terrible wars of religion on the Continent did not have 
their counterpart in England ; Great Britain was saved a Thirty 
Years' War, though she did not escape some persecution, both 
Catholic and Protestant. 

Henry's fears regarding the succession probably led to the passage 
by Parliament (1544) of an act which restored Mary and Elizabeth 
to legitimacy, and gave Henry the power to name his successors 
should his own descendants fail. Accordingly, he left a will pro- 
viding that in case Edward should die without children, first Mary, 
and then Elizabeth should succeed, and if neither of them should 
have children, the crown should go to the descendants of Henry's 
younger sister, Mary (§ 227, note), Duchess of Suffolk. He thus, 
contrary to the rules of descent, left out the descendants of his 
oldest sister, Margaret, wife of James IV of Scotland (§ 222). 

References. — Green, Short History, chap, vi, §§ 5-6, chap, vii, § 1 ; Gar- 
diner, Student's History, chap, xxiv, §§ 15-17, chaps, xxv-xxvi ; Terry, His- 
tory, Part III, Book II, chaps, ii-iv (pp. 520-558); Tout, Advanced History, 
Book V, chap, ii, §§ 17-30, chap, iii ; Seebohm, Era of the Protestant Revo- 
lution, Part I, chap, iii (e), Part II, chap, ii, Part III, chap, ii; Traill, Social 
England, vol. Ill, chap, ix ; Adams and Stephens, Select Documents, §§ 144- 
159; Cheyney. Readings, chap, xii, § iii ; Colby, Selections, §§ 54-58 ; Kendall, 
Source-Book, §§ 46-48; Lee, Source-Book, §§ 108-122. 

1 The reaction under Mary was only temporary, and the nominal reunion with 
Rome never became a reality. 



CHAPTER XVI 
EDWARD VI AND MARY 

262. Edward VI. 1547. — Edward VI was but little more than 
nine years old when he came to the throne. Like his sisters, 
Mary and Elizabeth, Edward was carefully educated. Like them, 
also, he was a precocious child. When he was ten years old he 
knew Latin, Greek, and French ; when thirteen he had read at' 
least two of Aristotle's treatises and had. translated some of Cicero 
into Greek. It is related of him that he " was always cheerful at 
his books," and that no study delighted him more than that of 
the Holy Scriptures, " of which he reads daily ten chapters with 
greatest attention." Young as he was, he took deep interest in 
the affairs of his kingdom, and seems to have exercised no small 
influence during the latter years of his short reign. He was 
brought up under strong Protestant surroundings, which naturally 
had a lasting effect upon him. 

263. Protector Somerset. 1547. — Henry had arranged for a 
council to rule the realm during his son's minority, and had ap- 
pointed men from both the reform and the conservative parties in 
the hopes that a middle course would be pursued. This arrange- 
ment was set aside by the executors, who appointed Edward 
Seymour, the little king's uncle, now Duke of Somerset, Lord 
Protector of the Realm and Governor of the King, and for a time 
he ruled almost independently of the council. Somerset, as he is 
generally called, was an able man, and apparently desirous of 
acting for the good of the country, but he possessed no skill in 
statecraft. The times called for statesmanship of a high order, and 
chiefly because he did not possess this, he failed. There were 

four matters each of which demanded the most careful and tactful 

227 



22 8 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

handling : the social conditions ; the relations with Scotland ; the 
relations with the continental powers ; and the attitude toward 
Protestantism and the religious question in general. 

264. Progress of the Protestant Movement. — Somerset sympa- 
thized with the reform movement in the church. A commission was 
sent out to investigate the state of affairs and to reform abuses. 
By order of this commission paintings on the walls of churches 
and chapels were whitewashed, images torn down, splendid 
stained glass windows ruthlessly broken into pieces, and carvings 
and statuary ruined. Parliament repealed the Six Articles (§ 251) 
and also modified religious observances. Chantries, fraternities, 
and gilds of a religious character were abolished and their prop- 
erty confiscated. 1 Many, if not most, of these and other changes 
were made by act of Parliament, but this is no indication that they 
accorded with the popular wish, for it must be remembered that all 
through the Tudor period (1483-1603) Parliament represented, not 
the people, but only certain portions of the community, and was 
usually chosen in accordance with the will of the sovereign. Never- 
theless the fact that Parliaments were called and consulted by the 
monarch was of vast importance, for thereby precedents were set 
to which the people could appeal when opportunities for greater 
liberty came. 

While London and a number of the cities and towns sympathized 
to a great extent with the new religious movement, the people of 
the rural districts clung to the old ceremonies and to the beliefs 
in which they had been brought up. They had been willing that 
Henry should take the place of the Pope as head of the church, 
but to give up the church services and doctrines was quite another 
thing. England was far from being Protestant at Henry's death. 

265. Character and Policy of Somerset ; an English Prayer 
Book. 1549. — Somerset seems to have been a sincere and con- 

1 To win the approval of the country at large some schools were founded from 
the spoils, but these did not exceed twenty or twenty-five at most, and some were 
so inadequately provided for that they amounted to little. Some of these schools 
still exist and are called King Edward VI Grammar Schools. 



CHARACTER AND POLICY OF SOMERSET 



229 



scientious man ; he was tolerant in an age of intolerance ; he did 
not persecute those who differed from him ; he sympathized with 
the common people against the nobles ; and he apparently sup- 
ported Protestantism from personal conviction. On the other 
hand, he was arrogant in manner and did not hesitate to push 




Coronation Procession of Edward VI passing Cheapside Cross 
After a contemporary painting 

his own interests ; he failed to understand the public mind, and 
he blundered in almost everything he undertook. His aims were 
high ; his execution was ill-advised and bungling. Henry had 
arranged for a marriage between his son Edward, nine years old, 
and the young queen Mary of Scotland, aged four. Somerset 
rightly believed that Henry's policy of thus uniting England and 
Scotland was wise, but he attempted to force Scotland to ratify it. 
You may persuade a Scotsman, but it is exceedingly difficult to 
force him. Somerset invaded Scotland, won a decisive victory 
at Pinkie Cleugh near Edinburgh (1547), and ravaged the south- 
eastern part of the kingdom. The Scots, angered, sent the little 



23O HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

Mary to France, where she was brought up under Catholic influence 
and became a bitter enemy of England. Furthermore, an alliance 
between Scotland and France was brought about, to the great 
injury of both England and Scotland. 

In religious matters, also, Somerset showed great lack of judg- 
ment. In 1548 priests, by act of Parliament, were allowed to 
marry. In 1549 English churches, by an Act of Uniformity, were 
required to employ the English language and use what is known 
now as the First Prayer Book of Edward VI. This book was 
chiefly the work of Archbishop Cranmer, and consisted of trans- 
lations into beautiful English of various parts of the old Latin 
service books. The book was a conservative one and could hardly 
be called Protestant, but the change was unwelcome to very 
many, especially to the people of Devonshire and Cornwall. A 
serious rebellion broke out in these counties in 1549, due mainly 
to religious causes, but i\Uo to social grievances. In the same 
year another rebellion broke out in Norfolk, known, from the 
name of its leader, as Ket's rebellion. But the causes of this were 
wholly social. 1 Somerset, understanding the grievances of these 
people, began with lenient treatment, but was compelled at last to 
use force. His effort failed in Norfolk, and the Council, with the 
aid of German troops, put down the rebellion with great severity. 

266. Foreign Affairs ; Deposition of Somerset. 1549- — Somer- 
set was no more successful in foreign affairs than in domestic. 
He neither negotiated an alliance with the Emperor Charles V, 
nor watched France. War broke out with France in 1549. To 
crown all, the debt of the country had been greatly increased. 
It was no wonder that Somerset was deposed from the Protecto- 
rate (1549). While it is true that Somerset tried to do too many 
things at once, and showed deplorable lack of judgment, it should 
also be remembered that he ruled in a time of extraordinary diffi- 
culty. Henry VIII had left the land in debt, with a debased cur- 

1 Robert Ket was the lord of a manor, but took the popular side, demanding 
that all inclosures of land should be pulled down, and all villeins should be set 
free (1549)- 



DUKE OF NORTHUMBERLAND AS PROTECTOR 



2 3 I 



rency and a dissatisfied people ; social conditions were in a state 
of unrest, owing to changes little understood and beyond the reach 
of legislation. It is to the great credit of Somerset that, almost 
alone of his class, he tried to lessen these evils, thereby incurring 
the enmity of his own associates. 

267. Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, in Control, 1549; Act 
of Uniformity, 1552. — Dudley, Earl of Warwick, but better 
known by his later title of Northumberland, now assumed the 
leadership, though he did not take the title of Protector. He 
was a son of Dudley, minister of Henry VII, and was an able 
soldier, a skilled admiral, and a diplomatist, but he was unprin- 
cipled and wholly devoted to self-advancement. He took up the 
cause of Protestantism from selfish motives only. Peace was 
made with France, and laws attempting to remedy the social 
and financial difficulties were passed. The government, however, 
issued more debased coin, thereby increasing the financial 
troubles. Somerset was recalled to the Council, and it was soon 
evident that he was regaining his former influence. On a charge 
of treason, which could not be proved, and then on a charge of 
felony, Dudley sent him to the Tower and afterwards caused him 
to be executed. 

Meanwhile Dudley, who had been created Duke of North- 
umberland, believed that his only chance lay in leading the party 
of extreme radical reformers of the church. The persecution of 
the Protestants on the Continent sent to England a number of 
refugees, particularly those who followed the Swiss reformer, 
Zwingli, and their influence on English religious practice became 
great. (App. 1, § 127, Note.) In 1552 a new Act of Uniformity 
required the use in all churches of the Second Prayer Book of 
Edward VI. This was a revision of the edition of 1549 and was 
more distinctly Protestant in its statement of doctrine. This 
book, to all intents and purposes, is the Book of Common Prayer 
now used by the Church of England and, with considerable 
change, by the Episcopal Church in America. In 1553 there 



232 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



was put forth, as the standard of doctrine, a document known as 
the Forty-two Articles of Religion. These showed very clearly 
the influence of the continental reformers. Somewhat revised in 
the reign of Elizabeth, they are the Thirty-nine Articles of the 
Church of England to-day. 

268. The Succession ; Schemes of Northumberland. 1553. — 
The health of the young king, who had never been robust, now 
began to fail, and it became evident that his life must soon end. 
This alarmed Northumberland, for, unless he could make his 
position secure, he himself would be likely to suffer the fate of 
Somerset. The will of Henry VIII, which had been ratified by 
Parliament, fixed the succession, first, in Edward's children if 
he had any, then in Mary, then in Elizabeth, and then in the 
heirs of Henry's youngest sister Mary (S 261). This arrange- 
ment was satisfactory to the country at large. 

Mary, the daughter of Catherine of Aragon, clung tenaciously 
to the Catholic religion. When the Council forbade her to prac- 
tice its rites, the Emperor Charles V, her fust cousin, interfered 
in her behalf, and from motives of policy she was allowed 
to have her way. Should she come to the throne, it was certain 
that, whatever else might happen, Northumberland and his follow- 
ers would be driven from power. He therefore hit upon the 
scheme of setting aside both Mary and Elizabeth as illegitimate, 
and of placing on the throne a descendant of Mary Brandon, 
Henry's youngest sister. 

With his usual craftiness, the duke married one of his sons, 
Lord Guilford Dudley, to Lady Jane Grey, Mary Brandon's grand- 
daughter, and then brought his arguments to bear upon the king. 
Skillfully placing before the young ruler the great dangers to the 
Protestant faith which would surely arise if Mary, a strong Catholic, 
should succeed to the throne, Northumberland persuaded Edward, 
who was an equally strong Protestant, that he had the right to 
dispose of the crown by will as his father had done. It was then 
easy to prevail upon him to leave the crown to Lady Jane Grey. 



QUEEN MARY 233 

As Lady Jane Grey was Northumberland's daughter-in-law, 
Northumberland thought that he would continue to be master of 
the kingdom. It was exceedingly difficult to get the Council to 
agree to this arrangement, for though Henry had disposed of the 
crown by will, his action had been approved by Parliament, whereas 
Edward was a minor and Parliament had not even been consulted. 
The influence of Northumberland, however, backed by the per- 
sonal appeals of the king, prevailed. 

269. Death of Edward VI ; Lady Jane Grey. 1553. — The will 
had hardly been executed when Edward VI died (July 6, 1553). 
Two days after Edward's death, Northumberland proclaimed Lady 
Jane Grey as queen. Except by a very few of the extreme reform 
party, the proclamation was received with coldness. Lady Jane 
Grey was unknown, and Northumberland was hated ; moreover, 
it was almost universally believed that Mary was the rightful heir. 
Her steady endurance had won respect, and the ultra-reformers 
had gone so far that they had provoked resentment. Mary fled to 
the eastern part of England, which, though it was the stronghold 
of Protestantism, loyally supported her. The troops of Northum- 
berland led against her went over to her side, and he, hoping to 
save his head, acknowledged her as queen. He was, however, 
arrested and sent to the Tower, and though he abjectly renounced 
Protestantism, his recantation did not delay his execution. Lady 
Jane Grey and her husband were also arrested and sent to the 
Tower. The young queen of nine days was not yet seventeen 
years old ; she had been carefully educated and was familiar with 
Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. She had a lovely character and dispo- 
sition, and had unwillingly assumed the position, believing it was a 
duty imposed upon her. 

270. Mary I. 1553. — While there was undoubtedly some re- 
action against the extreme Protestantism of Edward's government, 
it was not that which made the people welcome Mary, but rather 
the feeling that she was the rightful heir. 

Mary was the first queen regnant of England. She was thirty- 



234 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



seven years old when proclaimed. She too had been carefully edu- 
cated. At eight she could read Latin and (ireek ; at eleven she 
conversed with ease in Latin, French, and Spanish, besides having 
some knowledge of Italian. She hail also been taught astronomy, 
geography, natural science, and mathematics, and she was an able 
performer on the lute and spinet. She possessed the Tudor 
ability and courage in no small degree, but lacked the faculty of 
reading public opinion which was so marked a characteristic of her 
grandfather, father, and sister. She was naturally kind in disposi- 
tion, and for personal wrongs showed at first great clemency. 
"The most honest of Tudor rulers, she never consciously did 
what she thought to be wrong." But her one passion was to re- 
store England to the Catholic Church. Though she owed her 
throne to the loyalty of her subjects, and was received with ac- 
clamation, she gradually aroused almost universal hatred. From 
first to last lur reign was a tragedy. No other reign in English 
history, not even that of King John, is regarded by the English 
with such aversion ; no monarch has secured a harsher epithet 
than that by which she is known, " Bloody Queen Mary." 

271. Religious Reaction. 1553. — Her first Parliament de- 
clared her to be the legitimate heir, repealed all acts concerning 
religion passed during the reign of Edward VI, and, in general, 
restored the conditions existing under Henry VIII. This meant 
the abolition of the services in English, and the disuse of the 
English Prayer book ; the reinstatement of the mass, the celibacy 
of the clergy, and the Si\ Articles (§251). Though it must 
have been distasteful, Mary even assumed the title Supreme 
Head of the Church, besides this, she set free all the bishops 
and nobles who had been imprisoned during the previous reign, 
among them Bishop Gardiner and the Duke of Norfolk; she im- 
prisoned Archbishop Cranmer and Bishops Ridley and Latimer, 
and would doubtless have arrested more had not many of the 
Protestant clergy fled to the Continent for safety. She made 
Gardiner, former Bishop of Winchester, her chancellor. 



QUEEN MARY 




Mary would have not only restored England to the Pope, 
but also given back the lands and properties of the monks seized 
by Henry. But submissive as her Parliament was, it was not 
ready to go farther in the matter of religion. The confiscated 
lands were held by about four thousand owners, who could not 
be persuaded to resign them. 
Mary, however, still clung to 
the idea of restoring England 
to the Pope. 

272. Foreign Affairs. — 
Mary now came more fully 
under the influence of Charles 
V and his ambassador at 
London. For Charles she 
entertained feelings of grati- 
tude and trust. He had in- 
terfered on her behalf during 
the late reign, he was the 
champion of Catholicism, he 
was also her first cousin, be- 
ing the grandson of Ferdinand 
and Isabella, and so a nephew of her mother, Catherine of 
Aragon. 

European politics at this time played a great part in English 
affairs. The next legal heir to the English crown after Mary's 
sister, Elizabeth, was Mary Queen of Scots, who was in France, 
and was to marry the heir to the French crown. Should she 
succeed to the English throne, England and Scotland would 
become allies of France, Charles's great rival. To prevent this 
possibility and secure the English alliance for Spain, Charles pro- 
posed to Mary, the English queen, that she should marry his son, 
Philip. 1 (App. i, § I28.) Philip was a widower and about twelve 
years younger than Mary, but for him she conceived a romantic 

1 Later Philip II of Spain. 



Ql EEN M \KV 
After a portrait by Antonio Moro 



236 HISTORY I >F ENGLAND 

and sincere affection, and with true Tudor determination she 
resolved to marry him. 

273. The Spanish Marriage.— Parliament was opposed to a 
marriage with any foreigner and wished Mary to marry Courtenay, 
a lineal descendant of Edward IV, who had been kept in confine- 
ment many years. Except his royal blood there was nothing to 
recommend him, for he was dissolute in his habits and of small 
ability. Mary, to show her displeasure, dissolved Parliament. 
She went on with negotiations, and signed the marriage treaty early 
in 1554. It was agreed that I'hilip should be only titular king of 
England, that the crowns of England and Spain should never be 
united, that England should not be required to aid Spain against 
France, and that no foreigner should hold any command in the 
English army or navy. 

274. Wyatt's Rebellion. -The news of whit Mary had done 
led to Wyatt's rebellion ( 1 554 1. Sir Thomas Wyatt and his fellow- 
conspirator-., who were strong Protestants, raised the cry against 
the foreign marriage, endeavoring to keep the religious question 
in the background. The rising began in Kent, where the dread 
of Spanish invasion was keen. Wyatt, at the head of what was 
hardly more than a mob, marched to London, and for a time it 
seemed as if the queen and her party were in great danger. The 
Tudor spirit and courage of Mary were equal to the situation. 
She went to Guildhall 1 and in a bold speech declared that she 
threw herself for protection on her subjects, and that she would 
never marry without the consent of Parliament. The tide turned, 
the powerful landowners went over to Mary, and even promised 
men to support her. Though Wyatt, by a circuitous route, 
reached the center of London, it was with only a few followers, 
and before long he was captured. An earlier rising in Devonshire 
was also a failure. 

1 Guildhall, originally a hall for the meeting of a gild (or guild). As such a hall 
was often used for the meeting of the town corporation, it came to mean, as in this 
case, the town hall or council chamber. 



LADY JANE GREY 



2 37 




Jam: 

Inscription cut in wall of Lord Guilford Dud- 
ley's Cell in the Tower of London. 



275. Execution of Lady Jane Grey. 1554. — If Mary had been 
lenient in the earlier days of her reign, she was so no longer. 
The Tudor vindictiveness of Henry VII and Henry VIII re- 
appeared in her. VVyatt, Suffolk, and other leading rebels were 
sent to the block, and saddest of all, the youthful Lady Jane Grey 
and her husband, Lord 
Guilford Dudley, who had 
been confined in the 
Tower 1 since the acces- 
sion of Mary, were also 
executed, though they had 
no connection with the 
plots. Lady Jane Grey 
was sacrificed to the 
doctrine of expediency. 
She had some claim to 

the crown by descent, she had been the center of Northumber- 
land's plot, and around her some future revolt might center; per- 
sonal character or even innocence had nothing to do with the 
matter. She met her death with calm courage, and while she 
acknowledged her mistake in taking the crown, she denied that 
she had wished or sought it. " She was sixteen years and five 
months old, an almost perfect type of youthful womanhood." In 
all a hundred or more were executed, and others were seized. 

276. The Princess Elizabeth. 1554. — Among those arrested 
was the Princess Elizabeth. The plan of the rebels was to pro- 
claim her queen and marry her to Courtenay. That Elizabeth 
knew of the plot can hardly be doubted, but she was too shrewd to 
commit herself in writing. Renard, the Spanish ambassador, strongly 
advised her execution, but the moderate men in the Council, too in- 
fluential to be ignored, opposed even her imprisonment. Eliza- 
beth, in a letter to Mary, protested that she was innocent. For two 



1 On the walls of the room in the Tower occupied by her the word "Jane" 
which she cut is still pointed out. 



238 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

months she was kept a close prisoner in the Tower. Then, as noth- 
ing could be proved against her, she was sent to Woodstock, where 
she was kept under close surveillance. She was at this time about 
twenty-one. Under the circumstances it cannot be said that she was 
treated harshly, as she was known to be a Protestant by profession. 

277. Mary marries Philip II of Spain. 1554. — The failure of 
the rebellion greatly strengthened Mary's position, and a new 
Parliament consented to the marriage with Philip. Philip had 
shown great indifference to Wary, for a young man of twenty-seven 
could hardly be expected to feel much affection for a sickly, plain- 
looking woman nearly twelve years his senior. He came to Eng- 
land, and in July, 1554, Mary ami he were married by Gardiner at 
Winchester. Philip was given the title of king, his name appeared 
with Mary's in public documents, and their heads were stamped on 
the coins of the realm, but that was about all. The coolness of 
Philip toward Mary increased until it ended in ill-concealed dislike. 
Philip read the signs of the times better than did the queen, an 1 
procured the freedom of Elizabeth, thus leaving the way open to be 
friendly with her should she succeed to the throne. 

278. Reconciliation with Rome. 1554- — Having accomplished 
the Spanish marriage, Mary now bent all her energies to secure the 
nation's reconciliation to Rome, and its return to an acknowledg- 
ment of the papal supremacy. The Parliament which met after 
the marriage, more compliant than its predecessors, restored the laws 
providing for the burning of heretics, and agreed to the reconcilia- 
tion with Rome, but steadfastly refused to restore the abbey lands 
confiscated in the reigns of Henry and Edward, and though Mary 
set the example by restoring to the church all lands under her con- 
trol, it was not until the Pope had waived any claim to the confis- 
cated lands, that the reconciliation with Rome was agreed to. 
Cardinal Pole (§ 251), the Pope's representative, was received by 
Mary in imposing state. The queen, Philip, and both Houses of 
Parliament, kneeling before him, received absolution for past 
offences, and England was restored to communion with Rome. 



RELIGIOUS DIFFICULTIES 



239 



279. Persecution. 1555- — The reaction in favor of the 
Catholic Church had now reached its height. Several further steps, 
which Mary earnestly desired, Parliament declined to take. If she 
had rested with parliamentary action, and had been contented 
with a few examples of persecution, it would have been far better 
for her and for the cause she had so much at heart. To require 
conformity in religious observances 

was held lawful both by Catholics 
and Protestants ; to persecute and 
inflict punishment upon heretics 
had been practiced both by Cath- 
olics and Protestants ; neither could 
consistently blame the other. It 
was the relentlessness of the perse- 
cution, on the one hand, and the 
heroism and faithfulness to convic- 
tion shown by the sufferers, on the 
other, that roused first the compas- 
sion, and then the horror of the 
people. 

It would seem that the responsi- 
bility for the persecution must rest 
chiefly with Mary herself, and then 

upon Bishop Gardiner and Cardinal Pole, who were her principal 
advisers. Her hatred of heresy (App. 1, >? 76) was so deep, her 
belief in its soul-destroying effects so completely assured, that 
nothing seemed too severe if thereby it might be rooted out. 
Her share in the persecution was undoubtedly the result of deep- 
seated, honest conviction. Philip and the Spanish ambassador, 
wholly from motives of policy, advised moderation, but without 
avail. 

280. Martyrdom of Rogers, Hooper, Ridley, Latimer, 1555 ; 
Archbishop Cranmer, 1556. — The sole issue in these persecutions 
was heresy ; with the single exception of Cranmer, whoever 




Thilip H 
After a portrait by Titian 



240 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



abjured his faith would have suffered lightly or been safe. One 
of the first victims was John Rogers, who had helped in the trans- 
lation of the Bible into English. He was burned at the stake. 
He was followed by Bishop Hooper of Gloucester ; then Bishops 
Ridley and Latimer 1 were burned at Oxford. Cranmer, Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, had been deposed in 1556. Under the 
pressure of fear he recanted several times. But Mary had no pity 
for him who had been so prominent in the divorce of her mother. 
He was to die, but as he alone of the accused had been conse- 
crated by the Pope, it was deemed needful to get papal sanction 
for his death ; this was given. When brought into St. Mary's 
Church, Oxford, to make a public recantation, he surprised his 
audience by renouncing his former recantations, and holding out 
his right hand, said, " This hand hath sinned and it shall suffer 
first." When the fire was lighted around him, "he was seen to 
thrust forth his right hand into the flames, crying aloud, ' This hand 
hath offended ; ' and so held it steadfastly till it was consumed." 

281. Philip II leaves England, 1555 ; Loss of Calais, 1558. — 
Philip remained in England about a year, and then, despite Mary's 
passionate entreaties, departed for the Continent on the plea of 
urgent business. The excuse was a valid one, for his father, the 
Emperor Charles V, was about to resign his honors to Philip and 
go into that strange retirement which lasted until his death. (App. 
1, § 128.) Philip's departure was a piece of good fortune for 
England, because it very much lessened the risk of continental 
entanglements. It was nearly two years before Philip returned 
to England (1557), and then only for a brief visit, in order, if 
possible, to get England to aid him in a war against France. 
The Spanish connection grew more and more distasteful to the 
English people, who realized that the one purpose of Philip was 
to make England actively support Spain. 

1 Hugh Latimer, Bishop of Worcester, was one of the ablest and most liberal of 
the churchmen of his time. He spoke in forceful English on the problems of the 
day and exercised great influence. He was about seventy at the time of his death. 



CLOSE OF MARY'S REIGN 



24I 



Philip accomplished the object of his brief visit and Mary de- 
clared war against France (1557). The only result of importance 
was the loss of Calais (January 5, 1558). England had held this 
seaport since 1347 (§ 155). The English people felt that its 
loss was a heavy blow to their honor ; to Mary, it seemed a 
calamity. She said that if her body was opened, " Calais " 
would be found written on her heart. 

282. Persecution continued ; its Effects. — The most dis- 
tinguished of the Protestant sufferers have been named, but 
neither age nor sex was spared. The whole number of deaths 
was almost three hundred. The persecutions were confined in 
a great measure to the southern and eastern counties of England, 
for here was the stronghold of Protestantism. Here, too, the 
loyalty of the people had given Mary her crown, a loyalty ill 
requited by her to whom it had meant so much. This con- 
centration of persecution caused a reaction against Mary so strong 
that nothing could withstand it. Thousands went over to Prot- 
estantism, and many able men fled to the Continent, there to 
become still stronger Protestants. These, full of zeal for their 
new doctrines, held themselves ready to return to England when- 
ever opportunity offered. 

Mary had reigned about five years, but in that short period 
more suffered death than in the reign of either Henry VIII or 
Elizabeth, though one reigned thirty-eight and the other forty- 
five years. In the reign of Elizabeth, political considerations 
always decided a case, while under Mary the religious question 
was the only one at issue. 

283. Close of Mary's Reign. 1556-1558. — Gardiner died in 
1556, and Cardinal Pole, who had been appointed Archbishop of 
Canterbury (1556) after the death of Cranmer, became Mary's 
chief and almost sole adviser. 

The fact that she was childless was a terrible grief to Mary. 
She was, moreover, the victim of an incurable disease, and the 
last ten months of her reign were full of gloom and foreboding. 



242 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



Everything she had most desired — the complete restoration of 
her kingdom to the faith she adored, the love of a husband to 
whom she was devoted, the child she passionately longed for — 
all these were denied. There is scarcely a more pathetic spec- 
tacle in history. She died in November, 1558, having recognized 
her sister as her successor. 1 Cardinal Pole's death occurred 
shortly afterwards. 

References. — Green, Short History, chap, vii, §§ 1-2; Gardiner, Student's 
History, chap, xxvii; Terry, History, Tart III, Book II, chap, iv (pp. 558- 
570), chap, v; Tout, Advanced History, Book V, chaps, iv— v; Creighton, Age 
of Elizabeth, Book I, chaps, ii-iv; Traill, Social England, vol. Ill, chap, x; 
Adams and Stephens, Select Documents, §§ 1 59-166; Cheyney, Readings, 
chap, xii, §§ iv-v; Colby, Selections, §§ 58-60; Kendall, Source-Book, §§ 49- 
51 ; Lee, Source- Book, §§ 1 22-132. 

1 As a matter of fact it made no difference whether Edward, Mary, or Elizabeth 
recognized a successor, for it was not theirs to appoint one. The matter was 
governed by the laws of succession and by the will of the people. 



CHAPTER XVII 

ENGLAND IN THE FIFTEENTH AND SIXTEENTH 
CENTURIES 

284. Rise of the Middle Class. — Nearly all of the great move- 
ments of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries had their beginning 
with men of the middle class. The men who brought about the 
Renaissance and the Reformation, who transformed the medieval 
world into the modern world, were neither nobles nor ecclesias- 
tics. The great statesmen of Henry VII and Henry VIII were 
men who had risen from obscurity. Columbus and his contem- 
porary explorers were all men of the middle class. Under feu- 
dalism there were but two ranks — the lords and the villeins — and 
under strictly agricultural conditions the system worked fairly 
well. But it is not adapted for commercial life or for a class 
whose service is based on wages or on money payments. With 
the revival of trade with the East, and with the improvements in 
shipping, there was a great increase of commerce, and along trade 
routes cities and towns sprung up, whose citizens were unwilling to 
be villeins. Commerce and industry quicken the intellect more 
than agriculture. Travel and intercourse sharpen the wits more 
than staying at home. It was the growing intelligence of the 
community, stimulated and enlightened by trade and travel, that 
transformed the world in art, industry, politics, and religion, and 
brought about a revolution in social and economic conditions. 
Commercial, trade, and town life made a middle class. Owing to 
the fact that feudalism was never fully developed in England there 
was greater opportunity for the development of middle class con- 
ditions. And nowhere in Europe has the influence of the middle 
class been more important. 

243 



?44 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



285. Land Systems. — The manorial system of the previous 
century (§ 95) still prevailed, as a rule. Dwellings, farm buildings, 
and methods of agriculture had improved but little. Rents and 
wages were, however, generally paid in money. Even down to 
the middle of the sixteenth century the rule of custom was the 
ultimate standard to which everything was referred, and its im- 
portance must be kept in mind. Kent>, dues, rights, occupation 













'•?.--•. • - 



a Ci \p vt 1 uuc-hoi 51 . m \k Sausbdky 

of land, and administration of justice depended not so much upon 
law as upon custom, and that rather upon local than national 
usage. The attempt to remedy this evil led to the passage of 
many laws, some of which aggravated the difficulties and hard- 
ships they were meant to cure (§§ 157, 158). 

The greater part of the population of England was in the south- 
ern and eastern counties, and the total number in 1 55S has been 
estimated at about three millions. Notwithstanding the slowness 
of the agricultural population to make changes, changes were all 
the time going on, and it was largely the prevailing conservatism 
and the slavery to custom that caused so much suffering in Eng- 
land during the transition period. Even able men like Sir Thomas 
More hat! failed to see the signs of the times and the advantages 
of competition. 



INDUSTRIAL CONDITIONS 



2 45 



286. Woolen Trade ; Inclosures. — Intercourse between nations 
becoming easier and more frequent led to a greater interchange 
of products and increased the number of trades, and all these led 
to a diversity of material interests. The woolen manufacturers of 
Flanders and of France were celebrated, and they needed wool. 
England is admirably suited for raising sheep on account of its 
climate, which is favorable to the growth of grass. The English 
wool was of fine quality, and hence in demand on the Continent. 
The manufacture of woolen goods sprung up in England also, and 
the larger landholders in England found it to their advantage to 
raise sheep in great numbers. Sheep raising was no new thing, 
the change was in the substitution of sheep raising for other forms 
of agriculture. 1 As the land system in vogue was not suited for 
this purpose, they began not only to inclose common land in 
order to obtain large fields for their flocks, but also to turn out or 
"evict " small tenants, so that land which had formerly been used 
for raising grain might be turned into pastures. 

287. Increase of Pauperism. — Sheep raising did not require 
so many men as tillage; where it had taken over a hundred men 
to look after crops, ten or a dozen could look after sheep. The 
process of inclosures and of increasing the size of farms, there- 
fore, threw many out of employment. Villages were depopulated, 
and houses were pulled down or fell to ruin, while their tenants 
were compelled to seek for other employment or become vaga- 
bonds. Under the old system " tramps," as we call them, were 
almost unknown, and such as did exist had a ready refuge at the 
numerous monasteries and abbeys. But with no refuge, not even 
almshouses or poorhouses, they threw themselves on the com- 
munity in increasing and alarming numbers, down to the time of 
Elizabeth. 



!The change was not wholly due to the demand for wool. Farming where 
hired labor was employed had come to be unprofitable under the old system, and 
it is likely that men of property thought they saw in sheep raising a profitable use 
of capital. 



246 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



288. Social Changes. — AYhile the inclosure of hind was not 
whollv responsible for the social unrest, much of this must be laid 
to its charge. In fact, the whole agricultural system was under- 
going a great change. Rents fixed by custom were changing into 
the modern system, under which the farm or land is let to him who 
will pay the most for it. This in itself tended to raise rents, which 
were still further increased by the fact that many who had formerly 
lived in towns went into the country to use their capital in farming 
and sheep raising on a large scale. The rise in rents also tended to 
bring about an improvement in the methods of agriculture in order 
to meet the additional charges. Again, there was a great increase 
in the number of parks, which were used by their noble owners 
simply as pleasure grounds or for the preservation of deer and game. 
This decreased the amount of land that could be used as tillage. 

The administrators of the various governments of the fifteenth 
and sixteenth centuries, though they often failed to understand 
the causes, were rally aware of the conditions, and the statute 

books record many laws enacted to 
redress these evils ; but sometimes 
the laws could not be enforced, some- 
times they were totally inadequate, 
and at other times they proved to 
be unwise. Besides this, the great 
landowners, who were always in- 
fluential in Parliament, clearly did 
their best to render futile such legis- 
lation as they thought would harm 
their own interests. 

Many of the risings against the 
government in the time of Henry VIII and Edward VI had their 
origin fully as much in social as in religious causes. Ket's rebel- 
lion (1549) was wholly social (§ 265). 

289. Debasement of the Coinage; Influx of Silver. — The de- 
basement of the coins, already referred to (§ 258), begun under 




Coin of IIi.nry YIII 



SOCIAL CHANGES 



247 



Henry VIII and continued under the government of Edward VI, 
was injurious to all classes, but most so to the poor. The effect, 
as must always be the case, was to raise the cost of all articles. 
When a shilling contained only half as much silver as it had for- 
merly, it would purchase only half as much. Besides this, the 
great influx of silver from American mines so lowered its value 
that its purchasing power was 
itself lowered. As the price of 
labor was fixed chiefly by custom, 
the unfortunate laborer, though re- 
ceiving nominally the same amount 
in wages, found himself hardly 
able to buy half as much with it. 
And attempts to fix the rate of 
wages by law too often increased 
the evil. 

290. Town Life; Gilds. — Life 
in towns was much as it had 
been, but the power and influence 
of the gilds l was greatly les- 
sened through confiscation of their lands by Henry VIII and, 
later, by Somerset. In these measures only the London gilds 
were spared. The organization and development of the gilds 
made it increasingly difficult for an apprentice to become a 
master, or for a common workman or journeyman to better his posi- 
tion. Above all, the restrictions by gilds on labor in the towns led 
to a great increase in the number of independent workmen, many 
of whom left the old centers of manufacture and settled in the 
villages and market towns, disposing of their goods at the markets 
or fairs held periodically. This was especially the case with 
cloth workers. As all labor was hand labor, such a movement 

1 Gilds are of very ancient origin. They were divided into merchant and craft 
gilds. The former dealt with the general trade of the country, while the craft gild 
dealt with its own particular industry or craft. They regulated details of trade and 
manufacture rigidly and had great power. 




Arms of the Gild of Merchant 
Taylors 



248 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

could easily be accomplished. The result on many towns was 
disastrous. 

291. Trade and Commerce. — On the other hand, trade and 
commerce, particularly ID the seaports on the eastern coast, 
greatly increased. Trade was especially flourishing with Flanders, 
at first with Ghent and Bruges, and then with Antwerp. An 
Italian writer of the times has left on record a list of the articles 
of commerce exchanged. " Antwerp sends to England," he says, 
" jewels, precious stones, silver bullion, quicksilver, wrought silks, 
gold and silver cloth and thread, camlets, grograms, spices, drugs, 
sugar, cotton, cummin, linen-, fine and coarse, serges, tapestry, 
madder, hops in great quantities, glass, salt, fish, metallic and 
other merceries of all sorts, arms of all kinds, ammunition for 
war, and household furniture. . . . From England, Antwerp re- 
ceives vast quantities of coarse and fine draperies, fringes, and all 
other tilings of that kind to a great value ; the finest wool ; excel- 
lent saffron, but in small quantities; much lead and tin; sheep 
and rabbit skins without number, and various other sorts of fine 
peltry, and leather ; beer, cheese, and other provisions in great 
quantities; also Malmsley wines, which the English import from 
Candia." 1 This was the commercial activity of England, which 
saw such great expansion during the reign of Elizabeth. 

292. Domestic Life ; Women and Children. — There was a de- 
cided advance in the standard of living. Owing to the difficulty 
and expense of transportation, houses were built of the material 
nearest at hand, but stone had begun to displace wood, and when 
stone was not convenient, brick was used. 2 Houses were poorly 
lighted, ill-ventilated, and in winter scarcely warmed by the open 



1 " Camlets," fine woolen, or wool and silk materials; "grograms," a coarse 
fabric made of silk, or silk, wool, and mohair; "draperies," cloths; " merceries," 
textile fabrics, usually fine goods; "saffron," a dye and a drug prepared from saf- 
fron flowers ; " peltry," undressed skins of animals valuable for their fur. 

- Brick, which was common in Roman Britain, as remains abundantly testify, 
somehow fell into disuse. It was revived by the Flemings in the reign of 
Edward IV (about 1480J. 



DOMESTIC LIFE 



249 



wood fires, though an advance is shown by the introduction of 
charcoal and coal as fuel. On the other hand, there were more 
rooms, because greater privacy was desired, and the great hall or 
living room was diminished in size for the same reason, the 
master and mistress preferring to have their meals apart from 
their dependents. The 
hall, too, was no longer 
used as a sleeping apart- 
ment. To a less extent 
similar changes took 
place in houses of 
smaller size. The floors 
were still bare or strewn 
with rushes ; articles of 
glass and silver were 
practically unknown, ex- 
cept in the houses of the 
very wealthy ; almost all 
the household comforts 
now universal were ab- 
sent. The dress of those 
in the court circles was 
rich and expensive, but that of others was simple and well suited 
to their various occupations. The Englishman of that day, as at 
present, was a large eater ; his meals were very substantial, and 
while comparatively little wine was drunk, an abundance of ale 
and beer was considered essential. Early hours for meals were 
still the custom, partly because of the lack of artificial light. The 
farmers had dinner at one, and supper at seven, while the gentry 
dined at eleven and supped at five. 

The demand for industrial laborers in the fifteenth century greatly 
affected the condition of women. We find them employed in 
various arts and industries, and they are mentioned in the statutes 
regulating labor. They were sometimes even admitted to the 




hi 5bandman and country woman of 
Fifteenth Century 



250 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



gilds. Among other industries they were cloth makers, cloth 
workers, weavers of linen, dealers in silk, also in general mer- 
chandise, keepers of inns and taverns, and brewers on a large 
scale. In an account of the Duke of Norfolk of payment for 
haymaking, more women than men are named, and preparing the 
straw for thatching roofs was almost wholly woman's work. Be- 
sides this, household service was very common, and it is interest- 
ing to note that this was not considered servile, for women of 
good position shared in it. The wages of women then, as now, 
were much below those of men, sometimes not more than half as 
much. The problems of the fifteenth century relating to the 
employment of women were practically the same as at present, 
and similar arguments for and against changes were used. 1 

There is little information regarding child labor, but it is per- 
fectly clear that very young children were employed on the farms 
and elsewhere. < >ne case is known where a child of eight years 
was put to the plow; apprentices are spoken of as being eleven, 
and ordinances and statutes fixing the age for work at thirteen or 
fourteen indicate that there was need for their passage. Appar- 
ently the legal definition of "a child" was "under fourteen." 
Probably no class had a harder time than the children of this 
period. The ignorance of the parents was as much to blame as 
anything else. 

The average duration of life, owing to the absence of sanitary 
regulations and the ignorance of the commonest laws of health, 
was much shorter than it is now. This may account for the fact 
that children matured earlier than at present.'-' 

1 Women had a voice in the choice (if churchwardens, nnd sometimes were 
churchwardens themselves. They also sometimes held offices of importance. 

2 As instances may be given the family of Henry IV: One of his sons was 
viceroy of Wales at nineteen, another viceroy of Ireland at eighteen, another the 
associate general of an army at seventeen. At the battle of Shrewsbury the Prince 
of Wales (afterward Henry V) was one of the generals at the age of fifteen. I^idy 
Margaret Beaufort married at the age of fourteen and was the mother of Henry VII 
when she was fifteen. The precocity of the children of Henry VI 11 and that of 
Lady Jane Grey has already been noted. 



EDUCATION AND LITERATURE 25 I 

293. Travel ; Education ; Literature. — All roads were bad and 
almost all travel was on horseback ; communication between 
differents parts of the country was infrequent and the few letters 
which were exchanged were conveyed by private hands. An 
increased interest was taken in education, which is shown by the 
establishment and endowment of schools, some of which are still 
in existence. The education of both men and women in the 
upper classes was sometimes carried to a high degree of ex- 
cellence, as is shown by the example of the daughter of Sir 
Thomas More, by Lady Jane Grey, by the poet Henry Howard, 
Earl of Surrey, by the Paston family, and many others. The 
spread of education increased the number of those who could 
read, and so increased the demand for books, and though by the 
close of the fifteenth century many books were produced in 
England, so great was the demand that books were among the 
very few articles which could be imported free of duty. Another 
fact showing the increase of general education is the number 
of books printed in English. Literature gave promise of the 
future in the poems of the Earl of Surrey and of Sir Thomas 
Wyatt the elder in the collection known as TottePs Miscellany, in 
the writings of Sir Thomas More, of Roger Ascham, in Cranmer's 
Prayer Book, Latimer's sermons, and, above all, in Tyndale's Bible. 

References. — Traill, Social England, vol. 'II, chaps, vi-viii; Cheyney, In- 
dustrial and Social History, chap, vi (in part); Tout, Advanced History, 
Book V, chap, viii (in part); Cheyney, Readings, chap, xii, §§ 191-194; 
Kendall, Sotirce-Book, §§ 61-68. 



CHAPTKR XVIII 
THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH 

294. Elizabeth. 155S. — The accession of Elizabeth found the 
country discredited abroad ; and at home, in debt, weak, the 
people torn by internal dissensions, sullenly resentful against their 
former sovereign, and showing little or no patriotism or national 
spirit. 

Elizabeth was received by the English without a dissenting 

. though some of the strong Catholics must have dreaded the 

change of rulers. At the time of her accession she was about 

twenty-five years old. A Venetian ambassador in London thus 

describes her : "In lace she is pleasing rather than beautiful ; but 
her figure is tall and well proportioned. She has a good com- 
plexion, though of .1 somewhat olive tint, beautiful eyes, ami above 
all a beautiful hand, which she likes to show. She is of admirable 
talent and intelligence. . . . She has great knowledge of language, 
especially Italian. . . . She is proud and haughty." Besides 
Italian, she could speak French ami Latin with ease, and (Ireek 
fairly well. She was a "bold horsewoman, a good shot, a graceful 
dancer, a skillful musician, and an accomplished scholar"; she 
was fond of literature and encouraged its development. She was 
like her father in her hearty, friendly manner, and love of popular- 
ity, which she cultivated by visiting among the nobility and 
gentry. She also had a good share of his coarseness and fond- 
ness for display. In her vanity, her frivolity, and her love of 
coquetry and flattery she resembled her mother, Anne Boleyn. 
Like most of the Tudors, she was unscrupulous, untruthful when it 
suited her purpose, unfeeling, and relentless. Like them, also, she 
was governed by the principle of expediency. She was as parsi- 



QUEEN ELIZABETH 



25. 



monious as Henry VII, and never was the expenditure of the 
public funds more closely watched or economically distributed 
than by her. Unlike the rest of the Tudors, she had her passions 
and frivolities under perfect control, and when it suited her pur- 
pose, the vain, trifling woman became the keen, shrewd, far- 
seeing, wise queen. 

Few monarchs have „ _•/„ 

better understood 
their people. As a 
rule she knew the 
exact limits of her 
power, but if she 
found that she had 
gone too far she 
always contrived to 
retire with dignity. 
Young as she was 
on coming to the 
throne, she had 
learned much, both 
by observation and 
experience, and the 
policy she laid 
down for England, 
and for herself as well, was steadily pursued throughout her long 
reign. Like her father, she wished to guide public affairs, but she 
knew the value of able ministers of state ; and no English monarch 
has shown more wisdom in choosing counselors, or more faithful- 
ness to them, than Elizabeth. At the very beginning she chose 
Sir William Cecil, afterwards known as Lord Burghley, to be her 
chief adviser, and for forty years he remained in her service. 
His brother-in-law, Sir Nicholas Bacon, she made keeper of the 
seal, and so there was harmony in the administration. Sir Francis 
Walsingham, perhaps the ablest diplomatist of the day, though 




Queen Elizabeth 



254 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



unscrupulous with others, was for many years her faithful and 
devoted secretary of state. 

295. Domestic Problems confronting Elizabeth. 1558. — Few 
monarchs on succeeding to the throne have had more difficult 
problems to solve. The people were one in hating a foreign 
supremacy, but aside from that, there was difference of opinion. 
Probably a majority of the people would have preferred, in reli- 
gious matters, a return to the conditions prevailing during the later 
years of Henry VIII, but the extremists, both on the Catholic and 
Protestant sides, would doubtless have rebelled against this ; and 
Elizabeth knew that she could not afford to risk the opposition of 
the Protestants. Though she herself would have been well satisfied 
to return to the policy of her father, she saw that it could not be. 
She therefore determined to pursue a middle course. Personally 
she cared little for religion, but as the daughter of Anne lioleyn, 
whose marriage had been pronounced illegal by the Pope, she was 
practically forced to support Protestantism. 

296. Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity. 1559. — Her first 
Parliament was naturally Protestant in its character, and soon 
passed a new Act of Supremacy, and one of Uniformity. The Act of 
Supremacy in general resembled those of her father's reign, though 
it was more moderate. The title Supreme Head of the Church 
was dropped, and Elizabeth was described as "the only supreme 
( ii ivernor of this realm, as well in all spiritual or ecclesiastical things 
or causes, as temporal." Most of Mary's church legislation was 
repealed, but not all the statutes of Edward VI and of Henry VIII 
were revived, and the laws passed were studiously moderate and 
framed to appeal to moderate men. The Act of Uniformity re- 
stored the Prayer Book of Edward VI after being so revised by a 
commission that even extremists might be willing to accept it. 
All the bishops of Mary's reign, except one, were removed ; but 
out of 9400 clergymen then in England less than 200 refused to 
comply with the Acts. These were dismissed. On laymen a 
moderate fine was levied for absence from church ; all office- 



ELIZABETH AND THE PROTESTANTS 



255 



holders were required to take the oath of supremacy. Matthew 
Parker, a man of moderate views, who was fully in accord with 
Elizabeth's ideas, was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, and 
the break with Rome was complete. 

297. Recusants and Puritans. — While these arrangements in 
regard to the church were satisfactory to the great body of the 
people, they were distasteful to the extremists. On the one hand, 
the strong adherents of the Pope could not conscientiously attend 
the services of the church ; on the other hand, those who had been 
refugees in the days of Mary, had become thoroughly imbued with 
the teachings of the Swiss Protestants and especially with the doc- 
trines of John Calvin, who ruled at Geneva. These rejected the 
system of church government by bishops, any fixed form of prayer 
or liturgy, and the use of vestments. They followed what is usually 
known as Presbyterianism. They had no desire to leave the Church 
of England, but wished to purify it from what they termed errors 
in doctrine and practice, and in consequence were called Puritans. 

Elizabeth, and indeed most persons, whether Catholics or 
Protestants, believed that uniformity in belief and in church serv- 
ices was essential to the well-being of a nation. It is important 
to bear this in mind, for otherwise it is not possible to understand 
what seems to us gross intolerance. Toleration in religious matters 
is of later growth, and neither it nor perfect religious freedom is 
even yet universal. The disposition of the religious question by 
Elizabeth, though commendable, could not be regarded as final, 
for the conditions were changing all the time. 

298. Elizabeth and Foreign Relations. — Not less important 
than religious matters was England's relation to the rest of Europe. 
Elizabeth wished to keep the country independent of foreign 
complications. At that time the two great continental powers 
were France and Spain. Each one of them desired to control 
England. There was a traditional enmity between England and 
France, due, on the one side, to the humiliation involved in the 
repeated loss of territory and to England's claims to the French 



256 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

crown ; on the other, to the disturbing influence of France in 
Scotland and the possibility that the Netherlands, England's best 
market, might fall into her rival's hands. 

Spain's desire to control England, or at least to be Friendly with 
her, was due to the fact that England might gain dominion of the 
channel and the North Sea, the only means of direct communica- 
tion between Spain and the Netherlands, and by her fleet also 
greatly injure Spain's American commerce. Besides this, should 
mil join France, it meant for Spain the probable loss of the 
Netherlands. 

Elizabeth and Cecil were keenly aware of the situation, and 
during the whole reign it was their policy to play off one country 
against the other. If Philip II in following out his Catholic 
sympathies undertook to move against England, Cecil immedi- 
ately made overtures to France, or in some way frightened him 
with the possibility of a French alliance. When needful he would 
pursue a similar line of action toward France by aiding the 
Huguenots 1 in France or the Protestants in Scotland. In the 
main, during the earlier years ol Elizabeth's reign it was the 
policy of both Spain and England to keep on friendly terms. So 
important did Philip judge this to be that soon after Mary's 
death he even offered to marry Elizabeth. Indeed, he seems to 
have been personally attracted by her, but she declined the 
alliance. 

299. The Marriage Question. — The question of the queen's 
marriage was one which for a large part of her reign occupied a 
very prominent place ; it was constantly urged upon her by Parlia- 
ment, for the question of the succession was a serious one. Ac- 
cording to the usual laws of inheritance the next heir to the English 
crown was Mary Queen of Scots, who was the wife of the heir to 
the kingdom of France. She was a devoted Catholic, and if she 
succeeded to the throne, not only would England come under 
Catholic influence, but under the influence of France as well. The 

l The Protestants in France were so called. The origin of the name is uncertain. 



GENERAL POLICY OF ELIZABETH 



257 



heir, according to the will of Henry VIII, was Catharine Grey, 

sister of Lady Jane Grey. Catholic though he was, Philip could 

not support Mary Queen of Scots, for that would throw England 

into the hands of France. He therefore proposed sundry eligible 

suitors to Elizabeth, all of whom she rejected. Indeed, as has 

been well said, while she was 

ready to entertain the idea of 

marriage in general, she always 

found after a time some fatal 

objection to each individual 

suitor. 

As a matter of fact it is not 
likely that Elizabeth ever seri- 
ously intended to marry. She 
was too fond of power to share 
it with any one, and she was 
shrewd enough to see that by 
entertaining this or that matri- 
monial project she could gain 
time and avoid committing her- 
self in matters of state policy. 
Deeper than this was the rec- 
ognition that to marry a for- 
eigner would weaken, if not destroy, the confidence of the people 
and sacrifice her popularity ; on the other hand, to marry an 
Englishman, as many of her subjects wished her to do, would 
arouse jealousy among her nobility. She carried out her policy 
consistently, although more than once she involved herself in 
considerable difficulty, and showed how unscrupulous she could be. 
Besides this, by her vagaries and duplicity she often placed her 
counselors in positions of great embarrassment. 

She refused to recognize any successor, and thus made it de- 
sirable for her subjects to keep her on the throne, for those who 
had the best legal claim were thoroughly distrusted. 




William Cecil 
Afterward Lord Burghley 



258 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

300. Peace, the General Policy of Elizabeth ; its Effects. — . 
The general policy of both Elizabeth and her counselors, particu- 
larly Cecil, was peace. The loss of Calais (§281) in the previous 
reign proved now to be a great benefit, for as England owned no 
territory on the Continent, she had no possessions to defend and 
could keep herself as much aloof as she pleased. 

One of the earliest arts of Cecil was to call in the debased coinage 
of the previous reigns and replace it as fast as possible with coins of 
a definite and true value. This brought confidence and established 
trade on a sound basis. Besides this, artisans were invited to 
come to England and set up manufactories. Others came in order 
to escape the persecutions on the Continent Thus from Flanders 
there came Flemings who were familiar with the manufacture of 
lace, cutlery, hats, clocks, etc., and who were especially skillful in 
the weaving of flax and wool. I luguenots from France also came, 
bringing with them the arts in which they were proficient The 
freedom from wars and the encouragement received soon caused 
abundant prosperity among manufacturers. Increased trade and 
commerce stimulated agriculture. The cultivation of hops, of new 
-, and of roots for winter consumption increased to a great 
extent. 

301. Statute of Apprentices, 1563 ; Poor Laws, 1563; 1601. — 
The condition of the laborer, however, continued unsatisfactory. 
Though the price of food had risen threefold, wages remained 
about the same. With the purpose of improving conditions, two 
laws were passed (1563) ; one, known as the Statute of Apprentices, 1 
fixing hours of labor, and providing for the regulation of wages; 
the other attempting to provide for the increasing number of 
paupers. Men were appointed in each parish to make a list of the 
paupers and of those who had property. The latter were required 
to make contributions to a fund for the support of the poor. Then, 

1 This act provided that no person should be allowed to work at a trade unless he 
had previously served a seven years' apprenticeship. The duty of regulating wages, 
etc., was placed upon the justices of the peace. This act was held nut to apply to 
trades established after its passage. It was not repealed until 1814. 



SCOTLAND 259 

so far as possible, all begging was suppressed. This Poor Law 
was somewhat modified in 1597 and 1601, and then, with but 
slight changes, remained in force till 1834. Its effect was bad, for 
it tended to keep down wages, the employers knowing if a man's 
earnings would not support him and his family, he would be helped 
from the rates (taxes) . A " living wage " was therefore not deemed 
essential. 

302. Scotland. 1547— 1559. — The victory of Pinkie Cleugh 
(§ 265) had destroyed all hope of pleasant relations between the 
two countries, and the Scots had turned for aid to France. Mary 
of Guise, a French princess, the wife of James V (§ 256), had 
acted as regent during the long minority of her daughter, the 
young Mary Queen of Scots. Mary was educated in France, had 
married the Dauphin, heir to the French crown, and there was 
every prospect that Scotland would become an appanage of France. 
Meantime, however, the conduct of the Regent Mary was such as 
to raise up a party violently opposed to her and to French influence. 
In seeking support the leaders of this party recognized two probable 
sources of aid : the followers of the reformed religion, who had be- 
come strong in Scotland ; and Elizabeth, to whom the establish- 
ment of Catholicism in Scotland would be a serious menace, for 
Mary, the wife of the Dauphin, was, according to Catholic ideas, 
the rightful queen of England. 

Under the exactions of Mary of Guise, Protestantism increased 
rapidly and came to mean also opposition to France. As those 
who favored reform in church doctrine and practice pledged them- 
selves by an agreement or "covenant," they were called Cove- 
nanters ; their leaders were the " Lords of the Congregation " ; 
most of these men, however, cared little for religion and joined 
the Covenanters only from motives of expediency. 

303. John Knox ; the Reformation in Scotland. — The leader 
among the Protestants was John Knox, who had been driven into 
exile by Mary of Guise. He had first taken refuge in England, 
but on the death of Edward VI had fled to Geneva, where he be- 



260 HISTORY I >I ENGLAND 

came an earnest follower of Calvin. In 1550 he returned to Scot- 
land and was the life of the reforming party. He was a fearless, 
bold, zealous man, of boundless energy and strength of will. The 
Covenanters rose against the established order, pulled down 
images, sacked and destroyed monasteries, and would not allow 
to be celebrated. Bui these were the acts of a mob rather 
than of an organized force, and the body of men soon dispersed. 

Mar) <>f Guise hid received troops from France, and the outlook 
for the "Lords of the Congregation" was desperate unless they 
could get aid from England. 

304. Elizabeth and Scotland. 1560. — Elizabeth, to whom 
rebellion was one of the worst sins, found it hard to bring herself 
to aid rel undoubtedly were. Moreover, she- 
detested John Knox, because he had written a book called "The 
Blasl of tiie Trumpet against the Monstrous Regimen of Women," 
in which he denounced in strong lang • rule of women as 
being contrary t>> & ripture. but she could always put aside her 
personal feelings if she chose, and she determined to aid the 
Scotch Protestants. Elizabeth was practically toned to take this 
step, for as soon as the Dauphin became Francis II, King of 
France, his young wife, Mary Queen of Scots, assumed the arms 
and title n\ Queen of England. (App. 1, ? i-^o.i This act meant 
that Elizabeth was charged with being illegitimate and a usurper, 
and that on the first opportunity France would probably attempt 
to enforce the claim of Mary. 

In lanuary, 1560. an English fleet appeared in the Forth and con- 
trolled it ; an English army encamped before Leith, and with the help 
of the " Lords of the Congregation" closely invested that port. 
The biench troops suffered from famine and were forced to make 
a treaty by which the French agreed to leave Scotland and to 
recogni/e the right of Elizabeth to the crown of England. The 
death of the regent helped to bring about this peaceful adjustment. 

305. Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. — Except possibly Napoleon 
Bonaparte, no figure in modern history has been the subject of 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS 



;6i 



more discussion than has Mary Queen of Scots ; no one has had 
warmer defenders or more bitter assailants, and so much doubt is 
still justly felt as to her real character that it is impossible to reach 
a thoroughly satisfactory judgment in regard to her. She was 
about nineteen when she, a young widow, reached Scotland (1561). 1 

She was beautiful, with 
fascinating manners ; she 
was skilled in all feminine 
accomplishments and in 
horsemanship ; in intel- 
lectual matters and state- 
craft she was hardly in- 
ferior to Elizabeth. She 
lacked, however, the cool- 
ness and self-control of 
her great rival, and it was 
her giving way to her pas- 
sions that brought upon 
her disaster and finally a 
tragic death. 

Mary was not received 
with enthusiasm in Scotland. The country had become Protestant, 
though many of the nobles were Catholic in sympathy, and there 
was no conservative middle class, as in England. Mary's course 
was at first moderate ; she made no objection to the Calvinism of 
the people, while reserving liberty for herself to have mass cele- 
brated. By her skill and tact she gained over a number of the 
nobles to her side. 

306. Mary's Marriage with Darnley. 1565. — It was almost 
impossible for a woman in Mary's position to remain single. 
Elizabeth, wishing to gain possession of Scotland, proposed that 
the young widow should marry Robert Dudley, Ear] of Leicester, 
who was in high favor at the English court. But Mary took the 

1 Her husband, Francis II of France, had died late in 1560. (App. i, § 129.) 




M\ry Sn \rt, Queen of Scots 
After a contemporary portrait 



262 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

matter into her own hands and married ( 1565) her cousin, Henry 
Stuart, Lord Darnley. (Genealogical Table, page 1S6.) He was, 
like herself, a descendant of Margaret, daughter of Henry VII, 
and in the line of succession to the English crown. He had been 
brought up in England, ami was a Catholic, which was a strong 
recommendation to Mary, who had hopes oi uniting the Catholic 
interests of both countries. 1 ler power in Scotland was so limited 
thai she longed to be queen of England before Elizabeth's death 
might give her the throne. It is likely, therefore, that Darnlcy's 
leadership among the English < Catholics, who were becoming restive 
under Elizabeth, was one reason for her marriage. 

Whatever hopes she may have had regarding Darnley were 

bitterly disappointed. He was a frivolous, weak-minded, vicious 
man, for whom she could have had neither respect nor affection, 
and for counsel and companionship she turned to an accom- 
plished Italian, David Rizzio, who was her foreign secretary. 
Darnley, jealous of Ri/./io. plotted with some of the Protectant 
nobles to assassinate him. The conspirators rushed into Mary's 
private supper room in Holyrood Palace and murdered him 
almost before her eyes. Mary, who needed Darnley's help in 
carrying out her own schemes, concealed her own hatred with con- 
summate skill, persuaded him to return to her, but forced the 
other assassins to leave Scotland. A few months after Rizzio's 
murder Mary's only child was born, he who was to be James VI 
of Scotland and James I of England. 

307. Murder of Darnley, 1507; Mary marries Bothwell. 
1567. — Darnley and Mary quarrelled again, and from this time 
Mary's serious troubles began. Disgusted with Darnley and seek- 
ing for some one to aid her, she found such an one in James 
Hepburn, Karl of Bothwell. He was a coarse, rough man, but he 
was brave, masterful, and of considerable ability. 1 Mary became 
passionately attached to him. Both she and Bothwell were 

1 He was three years younger than Mary, and at this time twenty-two, the same 
age as Darnley. 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS 



263 



already married, and that difficulty had to be overcome. Bothwell 
could arrange for a divorce, but there was no way to get rid of Darn- 
ley except by assassination. He was at this time recovering from 
a serious illness, and was induced to take up his quarters in a lonely 
farmhouse near Edinburgh, where Mary came to see him. One 




m 



: 







Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh 

The principal residence of the monarchs of Scotland 

evening while she went to Edinburgh the house was blown up, and the 
dead body of Darnley was found the next morning in the garden. 
There has never been any doubt that the murder was the work 
of Bothwell, but whether Mary was an accomplice or not has 
never been known. There is no proof that she took an active 
part in the plot ; but there seems to be little doubt that she 
was aware that some plot existed and made no effort to frus- 
trate it. 1 An investigation followed and Bothwell was acquitted. 

1 The documentary evidence against Mary was contained in the famous " Cas- 
ket Letters." These were discovered, it was said, in a casket found in the hands 
of one of Bothwell's followers. They purported to be a correspondence between 
Mary and Bothwell, and if genuine were conclusive of Mary's guilt. Even ex- 
perts have been unable to agree whether any or all are genuine, or forged, or copies 
of genuine originals. 



264 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

So strong was public opinion that Mary did not dare to marry 
openly, so it was arranged that he should apparently carry her 
off by force. This was done, and they were married by the 
Protestant service. 

308. The Scots rebel against Mary ; she Abdicates. 1567. 
— Mary's conduct was more than the Scots could stand, 
and there was soon open rebellion. Deserted by his followers, 
Bothwell fled, and Mary, having surrendered, was shut up in 
Lochleven Castle (15671. She \\a> forced to abdicate, and her 
infant sod James was proclaimed as King James VI, with the Karl 
of Murray, Mary's half brother, as regent In the spring of the 
following >ear 115(1X1 she made her escape, tailed upon her 
Catholic subjects for aid, and attempted to regain her crown. 1 ler 
forces were defeated at Langside, not far from Glasgow, and her 
cause became desperate. 

309. Mary takes Refuge in England, 1568 ; Embarrassment of 
Elizabeth. — Believing that she would be safer in England than 
anywhere else, she fkd across the border, resolving to throw 
herself on the mercy of Elizabeth. It was a daring course, and 
one which placed Elizabeth in an extremely embarrassing posi- 
tion. On principle she was opposed to rebellions, but if Mary 
wa^ restored to Scotland, it would be sure to anger Elizabeth's 
Protestant allies in that country ; if she was allowed to go to 
France, conspiracies would instantly be formed to place her on 
the English throne to which she was the legal heir; if she re- 
mained in England, she would be a center around which the 
English Catholics could rally, and she might be even more 
dangerous than if she was in France. 

As usual, Elizabeth pursued a dilatory policy. Her chief aim 
seems to have been to present Mary's conduct in such a light that 
no foreign power could consistently support her. First of all, 
Elizabeth, with questionable right, 1 insisted that an investigation 
should be made into the murder of Darnley, and a commission of 

1 Mary was a foreigner, an ex-queen, and not an English subject. 



PLOTS AGAINST ELIZABETH 



265 



investigation was held first at York and later at London. 1 No de- 
cision was made, however, as Elizabeth suddenly changed her 
mind and the charges were dropped. All this time Mary refused 
to answer the charges, to recognize the commission, or to make 
any concessions whatever. Elizabeth resolved to keep Mary in 
honorable imprisonment, and to await results. This policy, based 
on expediency, brought a train of trouble after it. For nearly 
twenty years plot after plot was framed to put Mary on the English 
throne, and she can hardly be blamed that either directly or indi- 
rectly she should lend her aid or countenance to them. 

310. Plots, 1569; Excommunication of Elizabeth. 1570. — 
A serious effort to displace Elizabeth was made under the lead of 
two prominent earls 2 of the northern counties. Elizabeth acted 
promptly and the rebellion was put down. Though not fond of 
bloodshed, she showed no leniency. The chiefs escaped, but four 
or five men of rank were executed, and seven hundred of the 
lower classes were put to death without mercy. The thorough 
manner in which the rebellion was put down greatly strengthened 
Elizabeth's position, and there was no other revolt during her 
reign. Those who plotted against her could plan for nothing but 
her assassination. 

According to the Catholics Elizabeth was illegitimate, having 
been born during the lifetime of Catherine of Aragon, whose 
divorce in their view had been illegal and therefore null and void. 
Hence in their view she had no legal claim to the English throne, 
of which Mary was the rightful claimant. Heretofore, owing to 
the condition of European politics, no direct action against Eliza- 
beth had been taken by the popes. In 1566 Pius V had come to 
the throne. He was a fiery and impetuous man, zealous for his 
church, and filled with an intense desire to recover the dominions 
which had been lost to Rome. 'Without taking counsel of his 

1 It was before this commission that the Casket Letters were produced (§ 307, 
note). 

- Thomas Percy, Earl of Northumberland, and Charles Neville, Earl of West- 
minster. 



266 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

royal supporters, he issued a Bull l of excommunication against 
Elizabeth, depriving her of her kingdom, absolving her people 
from their allegiance, and commanding them not to obey her or 
her legislation (1570). This action on the part of the Pope did 
two things: (1) it made an irreparable breach between Kngland 
and Rome so long a* Elizabeth lived; and (2) it forced English- 
men either to obey the Pope and thus make common cause with 
his supporters such as Spain ; or to give unqualified obedience and 
support to Elizabeth, and hence to Protestantism, for the Bull 
compelled her to uphold the Protestant party. The Catholics in 
England, therefore, were marked out for suspicion, through no 
fault of their own. The Pope had placed them in a position which 
they did not wish to assume, but which they could not very well 
disavow. To obev the Pope in things spiritual seemed to involve 
a political duty to deny the legitimacy of their queen and to dis- 
obey the law of their country. That in this period of terrible 
strain so many Catholics held true both to their spiritual faith and 
to their patriotism is greatly to their credit. 

311. Persecution of Catholics ; the " Counter-Reformation." — 
More serious --till were the persecutions of the Catholics to which 
the Pope's artion led, and which are a sail blot on Elizabeth's 
reign. It was the political bitterness which caused the relentless- 
ness of her measures. Had not this been present, it is hardly 
likely that any person would have suffered death. As it was, 
every Catholic was suspected of being a traitor, if not an assassin, 
and in the light of that day it cannot be wondered at that Eliza- 
beth and her advisers acted as they did. On the Continent the 
reaction against the Reformation known as the Counter- Reforma- 
tion was well under way. If England could be regained, thought 
the Catholics, not only would that land come under Catholicism, 
a thing in itself greatly to be desired, but one of the strongest 
supports of Protestantism would be withdrawn. Very naturally, 

1 On the 15th of May this Bull was found tacked on the door of the palace of 
the Bishop of London. 



MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS 267 

therefore, great efforts were made to bring England back to the 
fold. (App. 1, §§ 137-140.) 

312. The Ridolfi Plot. 1571. — It was inevitable that Mary 
Queen of Scots, the legal heir to the English throne, should be the 
center of all conspiracies. Elizabeth was now to reap the troubles 
she had sown by her harsh treatment of Mary and by her shifty 
policy. 

In 1572 a new plot 1 was formed to assassinate Elizabeth and 
Cecil, put Mary on the throne, and restore Catholicism. It was 
discovered in season, and the Duke of Norfolk, who in case of 
success was to have married Mary, was put to death. Parliament 
demanded Mary's execution also, declaring her to be a " con- 
tinual menace to the realm," but Elizabeth could not make up her 
mind to this extreme measure. 

313. St. Bartholomew's Day, 1572; Revolt of the Netherlands. 
1579. — Meantime the struggle between Catholicism and Protes- 
tantism was still going on in France, and what is known as " the 
massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day " nearly ended friendly rela- 
tions between England and France. 

The king of Spain also had been trying in vain to force his sub- 
jects in the Netherlands to become Catholics and accept his des- 
potic rule. They had finally broken into open revolt, and in 1579 
the northern provinces formed a union and chose William, Prince 
of Orange, for their head. 

314. Jesuit Missionaries in England ; Philip II. — In England 
Catholicism was losing ground, though there were zealots who 
hoped to restore it to its former influence. Mainly through their 
efforts Jesuit missionaries were sent from the Continent to dissemi- 
nate their faith among the English people. Parliament passed 
rigid laws against all who failed to attend the Established Church, 
and persecution was renewed. The Catholics became openly 
hostile, and the murder of William of Orange by a Catholic fanatic 

1 It was known as the Ridolfi plot from the name of an Italian agent of the con- 
spirators. 



268 HISTORY Of ENGLAND 

in 15S4 deepened the district with which they were regarded by 
the queen's adherents. In [585 the Netherlands invited Elizabeth 
to be their ruler, but she refused. 

Philip II, provoked by Elizabeth's secret aid to the Nether- 
lands, and angry at the depredations of Spanish ships by English 
seamen, which the English government winked at, began to take 
actively hostile measures by giving aid to the various conspiracies 
which threatened the queen's life. (App. 1, §§ 135, 1 ; 

315. Further Plots. — Elizabeth was now in a very dangerous 
position. The policy of France under the new king was not a 
friendly one ; the religious struggles in that country overshadowed 
any other interest. The assassination of Willi. mi of Orange had 
left the Netherlands without a head, and Philip was tree to act. 

Another plot was discovered to assassinate Elizabeth and set M iry 

on the throne by the aid of Spain and the French Catholics of the 
Guise party in France. The Spanish ambassador was implicated 
and forced to leave the country. The leader, Francis Throgmor- 
ton, was executed. This plot led to what was called the Bond of 
iation, an agreement signed by thousands, both Protestants 

and Catholics. It bound the signers in the event of the assassina- 
tion of Kli/.abeth to hold the person responsible for whose benefit 
the act might be committed, and to Par such person absolutely from 

the succession. Though no name was mentioned, Mary Queen of 
was meant, further, any signer who refused to carry out 
this oath-bound agreement was to be held guilty of treason. Par- 
liament was soon convened, and the Pond was authorized by law. 
It was plain to Elizabeth's Council that so long as Mary Queen 
•s was alive she would be the center of plots which would be 
dangerous, not only to Elizabeth, but to the pew e of the kingdom. 
No one could blame Mary for trying to escape from captivity, but 
it was believed that she was implicated in all the plots against the 
life of Elizabeth. Her confinement was made more rigid, and she 
was put under the care of Sir A my as Paulet, a strict Puritan. 
She was surrounded with spies, and, unknown to her, all her cor- 



EXECUTION OF MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS 2 6o 

respondence passed through Walsingham's hands. It was not 
long before there was another plot (1586). This is known as 
Babington's plot, from the young Catholic gentleman who was 
one of the leaders. Enough evidence was found to warrant a 
judicial investigation, and Walsingham produced copies of letters 
from Mary to Babington signifying her approval of what was 




London Bridge in the Time of Elizabeth 



going on. Under torture, or threats of torture, the conspirators 
confessed, and were tried, condemned, and executed. 

316. Trial and Execution of Mary Queen of Scots. 1587.-11 
was impossible for Elizabeth to ignore the charges against Mary, 
and a commission was appointed to try her. This sat first at 
Fotheringay Castle, Northamptonshire, where she was confined 
and then at Westminster. Mary denied both the jurisdiction of 
the court and her complicity in Babington's plot. The court 
however, unanimously found her guilty, but left her sentence for 
the queen and Parliament to fix. Parliament when it met peti- 
tioned the queen for the execution of Mary, a proceeding which 
seems to have met with approbation from the majority of the 
people. Elizabeth was in a difficult position. 'Whatever she did 
she would incur blame. She certainly appears at her worst in 



270 



1IIM..UY I »F ENGLAND 



this emergency. There can be little doubt that so far as she was 
personally concerned, she did not desire to put Mary to death, 
but she did wish to evade all responsibility in the matter. She 
prorogued Parliament without giving any definite answer to its 
aj 'peal, and she tried in vain to get some acknowledgment or 
promise from Mary, who, insisting on her innocence, refused to 
admit or promise anything. The Royal Council felt as strongly 
as Parliament that swift action must be taken, and finally Elizabeth 
signed the death warrant. Then she tried through the Secretary 
to get Sir Amyas Paulet to put Mary to death under the terms of 
the Bond of Association, a suggestion which was indignantly re- 
■ 1 by Paulet 

At last the Council took matters into its own hands and sent 
the warrant to Northamptonshire. On February 8, 1587 (<). S.), 
in the great hall of Fotheringay Castle, Mary was beheaded, 
maintaining her dignity to the last. She disinherited her son 
James and left her claim to the Engljsh throne to Isabella, daugh- 
ter of Philip II of Spain, and a lineal descendant of John, Duke 
i>\ ( iaunt, son of Edward III. 

317. Elizabeth and the Execution. 15X7. — When Elizabeth 
heard of the execution she behaved as if she were beside herself. 
She protested that she had intended to pardon Mary, threw all 
the blame upon her Council, and wreaked her real or assumed 
anger on Burghley and Davison, the Secretary, through whom the 
warrant had been dispatched. Davison was dismissed from the 
public service and condemned to pay an enormous fine, which 
ruined him. To France and Scotland, the two countries most 
interested, the queen sent word that the deed was the work of the 
Council, and not her own, certainly a piece of transparent hypoc- 
risy. As a matter of fact the execution of Mary placed Elizabeth 
in a stronger position than ever, for it removed the only one 
around whom the Catholics and the Catholic powers could rally. 
James VI of Scotland, son of Mary, who stood next in the succes- 
sion, recognized by all as legitimate, was a Protestant; Isabella's 



EXECUTIONS IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY 



27I 



claim, shadowy as it was, involved Spanish influence, and neither 
France nor any other power would do anything to make England 
an appanage of Spain. In England the death of Mary ended any 
likelihood of domestic revolt. No one would kill Elizabeth to put 
James on the throne, and, as always, Englishmen hated interfer- 
ence from abroad. 

318. Assassinations and Executions in the Sixteenth Century. — 
However one of the present day may feel in regard both to 
Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots, they must be judged by the 
standards of their day. There is no doubt that assassination was 
a recognized method of getting an enemy out of the way — it was 
not looked upon as a heinous crime, though a perpetrator should 
be punished if discovered. This was especially true on the 
Continent. The annals of the continental powers during the 
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries are full of instances. Even in 
England a political murder was not objected to, provided it was 
done under color of law. There was no general objection raised 
to the execution of Sir Thomas More, or of Fisher, or even of 
Lady Jane Grey. It is almost certain that many nobles were 
concerned in the murder of Darnley and were fully as guilty as 
Mary. In her case it was not the murder of Darnley, but the 
marriage with Bothwell, that raised the hatred of her subjects. It 
made them sure that it was not politics, but personal passion, which 
was the motive. The execution of Mary was not objected to by 
the people of England, because it was purely a political deed. 
As long as she lived she was a menace to the peace of England, 
she was the center of plots, her accession would have brought on 
civil war, and there can be little doubt that Parliament and the 
English people were more than ready to assume the responsibility 
of her death. 

319. England and the Sea; Drake. 1577-1580. — Up to the 
time of Elizabeth the dominion of the seas had been held by Spain 
and Portugal. The discoveries of Columbus and the other early 
explorers aroused the English and led to the expedition of the 



272 



HISTORY 1 >1 ENGLAND 



Cabots, which was followed in time by private enterprises. 
Martin Frobisher in 1576 and 1577 had explored Labrador and 
Newfoundland ; John Davis, second only to Drake as an explorer, 
had discovered the straits which bear his name; Sir John Haw- 
kins, in 1562 and in 1564, made two expeditions to the Guinea 
coast to kidnap or buy cargoes of slaves to be sold to the Spaniards 
in the West Indies, and thus started that traffic which was to bring 
such untold suffering ami difficulty upon America. Ten years 
earlier than this, Willoughby had opened trade between England 
and Russia, then called Muscovy. The Company o( Merchant 
Adventurers in London sought out various channels of trade in 
the Baltic and elsewhere. 

But the mosl daring and fruitful expedition was that of Francis 
Drake. Drake hid mule a voyage to Panama, and having ;iv 
cended one of the mountains and caught sight of the Pacific, he 
vowed that one day he would spread the English flag upon that 
ocean. It was not till 1577 that he had the opportunity. Then 
he set sail with five small vessels and succeeded in reaching the 
Pacific by way of the Strait of M igellan with one ship, the Pelican, 
afterwards called the Golden Hind, lie secured an immense 
amount of plunder from the unsuspecting Spaniards, visited the 

Of California, < lOSsed the Pacific . and rounding the Cape of 

I Hope, reached England after three years of adventure. 
He was the first explorer who had personally completed a circum- 
_ ition of the globe. 1 His exploit filled the English nation 
with pride, and Elizabeth, visiting the Golden Hind, knighted him 
on the deck. Philip II of Spain, angry at Drake's plundering and 
at the continual seizure of Spanish vessels by English adventurers, 
demanded reparation. 

320. Maritime Codes in the Sixteenth Century. — The condi- 
tion of affairs at sea in the sixteenth century must not be judged 
by the standards of the twentieth. While there is no doubt that 
there was a great deal of real piracy, the actions of Drake and his 

1 Magellan had died on tile return voyage. 



ENGLAND AND THE SEA 



173 



contemporaries were not considered as such, nor should they be. 
While it is true that private gain had perhaps much influence with 
the English adventurers, the sea was still a place where each man 
had to look after his own interests, and one could not complain 
much if he and his property were seized by some freebooter. It 
should also be re- 
membered that the 
bloodthirstiness and 
cruelties of the genu- 
ine pirate were wholly 
absent from Drake and 
his fellows ; they felt 
themselves, in short, 
to be knights-errant, 
who were doing both 
God and their country 
high service in de- 
spoiling "idolaters," as 
they styled their ene- 
mies and those of 
their country, while at 
the same time they 
were filling their own 
pockets with gold. 
English vessels and crews were seized in Spanish ports, Englishmen 
were taken and put to torture or even to death, and yet Philip 
would not interfere. In view of this action, neither he nor any 
one else could blame the English for making reprisals in the only 
way possible. 

These years of adventure and exploration gave England an un- 
surpassed race of sailors, bold, energetic, skillful, and ready in 
emergencies. 

321. Philip II and England. 1587. — After the death of 
Mary Queen of Scots Philip resolved to attack Elizabeth, for 




Qi 1 en Elizabeth making Drake a Knight 



274 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

while Mary lived lit- was always fearful lest she should be placed 
upon the throne, and then join France. He began to collect a 
fleet for the purpose of attacking England. Philip's plans were 
known in England and Drake was commanded to sail from 
Plymouth in order — in his own language — " to singe the king of 
Spain's beard." The day appointed for sailing was April 12, 15S7. 
No one knew Elizabeth better than did Drake, and so he set sail 
before the appointed day. Countermanding orders came in due 
time, but Drake was out at sea, and Elizabeth could disavow his 
action if she wished. Drake entered the harbor of Cadiz, sunk 
one man-of-war, set fire to most of the others in that port, and 
seized all the stores he could. On his return voyage he captured 
a large Spanish East Indiaman, and reached home in safety after 
crippling the Spanish navy fur a year at least (App. 1, Ji 138.) 

322. English and Spanish Fleets. 1588. — Philip was furious 
and doubled his preparations for a grand effort against England ; 
he would have made the attempt in the winter of 1587-15SX had 
not his admiral died, but for this England would have been 
caught unprepared. Spain had collected a fleet of about one 
hundred and thirty ship>, the largest of which were about three 
hundred tons. To meet this fleet England had gathered one 
hundred and ninety-seven ships, but they were much smaller than 
the Spanish vessels and the ted tonnage was about one 
half. On the other hand, the English vessels were better armed, 
were manned by trained seamen, and commanded by the most 
skillful sea captains of the time. The English relied upon their 
skill, their quickness of movement, ami the excellence of their 
artillery. The Spaniards looked upon their fleet chiefly as a 
means for transporting troops ; the English expected to fight their 
battles on the sea. 

323. The " Invincible Armada."' 1588. — After several attempts 
theSpanish " Invincible Armada,'' as it was called, set sail in July, 
1588, under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia, who, to 
his credit, had done all that he could to dissuade Philip from the 



THE SPANISH ARMADA 



275 



undertaking. The English fleet was commanded by Lord Charles 
Howard of Effingham, and under him were Drake, Hawkins, 
Frobisher, and other successful seamen. Howard and his sub- 
ordinates were in thorough sympathy. The Armada reached the 
British Channel on July 19th. The wind was from the south and 
favorable for the Spaniards. Howard allowed the enemy to pass 
him and then followed. In this way he had the advantage of 




The Spanish Armada in the English Channel 

After an engraving by the Society of Antiquarians following a tapestry in the 
House of Lords 



attacking from the windward side. The English ships kept up a 
running fight until the Armada reached Calais, by which time ship 
after ship had been captured. The Spaniards were forced from 
their shelter by fire ships sent among them by the English. A 
severe naval engagement then took place, and though the Spaniards 
fought bravely, the skill of the English in handling their vessels 
gave them the victory. The wind, still blowing strongly from the 
south, compelled the Spaniards to sail to the north and try to go 
around the British Isles and so return to Spain. They met with 
severe storms, many ships were wrecked off the coasts of Scotland 



276 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

and Ireland, and scarcely half of the Armada reached Spain. The 
English were filled with almost uncontrollable joy, for the greatest 
danger which had ever menaced them was at an end. They 
recognized that the elements had much to do with the complete- 
ness of the victory, for on a medal struck in commemoration of 
the event are the words, " God blew with his wind and they were 
scattered." Philip bore his losses in a fine spirit, saying to his 
admiral, " I sent vou to fight against men, not with the winds." 

324. Result of the Spanish Defeat. — The results of the failure 
of Spain can hardly be overestimated. It not only delivered 
England from fear of a foreign domination, but it gave her con- 
fidence in her own strength ; it established her as a Protestant na- 
tion ; it showed her that her opportunity lay in maritime affairs 
ami made her a great naval power; it united all factions for the 
time being and < reated a national spirit which was never lost. 
To the world at large the results were scarcely less important It 
guaranteed the freedom of the United Netherlands ; and it dealt 

a fatal blow to the supremacy of Spain in Europe. 

The war with Spain was not ended, though Philip would gladly 
have made terms. The conflict was upon the seas, and the Eng- 
lish made many attacks upon Spain ; but, though Drake, Hawkins, 
and Howard were the leaders, the war dragged on until after the 
death of both Philip and Elizabeth (1603). 

325. Religious Difficulties. — Notwithstanding the national 
feeling in England, there were still petty jealousies, and, more 
dangerous than these, a real difference of opinion concerning 
religion. The sympathy with Calvinism and the Presbyterian 
methods, which the refugees of the time of Mary brought back 
with them, was not lessened as the years went by. The Catholics 
wished to enjoy their religion undisturbed; the Puritans wished 
to change the national church altogether and to do away with 
bishops and episcopacy. The leading advocate of this latter move- 
ment was Thomas Cartwright of Cambridge, a professor of divinity. 
There were still others, though comparatively few, who separated 



FOREIGN AFFAIRS 



277 



entirely from the church and set up congregations of their own so 
that they could worship in the manner that seemed to them right. 
These were called Separatists, and sometimes Brownists, after one 
of their principal leaders, Robert Browne. These were the first 
Congregationalists, and from them came the Pilgrims of New 
England and later the Independents, who played so important a 
part in the reign of Charles I. 

To Elizabeth anything but uniformity was hateful, and acts 
were passed by Parliament to compel conformity to the Church of 
England. Those who refused to attend the church services, or 
who denied the authority of the queen in ecclesiastical matters, 
were to be imprisoned until they submitted. Stronger laws were 
also passed against the Catholics, and under these laws prosecu- 
tions took place which led to several executions, though not explic- 
itly on religious grounds, but on the charge of stirring up sedition. 

326. Foreign Affairs. — It was impossible for Elizabeth to keep 
out of European politics, much as she desired to do so. The 
struggle with Spain led her to take part in French affairs. 
Henry III of France was a weak man and his heir was Henry 
of Navarre, a Protestant and a leader of the Huguenots. It was 
the policy of Philip to prevent this succession, but when Henry III 
was assassinated, Henry of Navarre l became king, Elizabeth aiding 
him with troops. It was not long before he saw that his throne 
could never be secure while he was a Protestant ; he therefore 
became a Catholic and soon made peace with Philip. Henry, 
however, gave his Protestant subjects toleration by the famous 
Edict of Nantes (April 15, 1598). (App. 1, §§ 130, 131.) 

327. Ireland. — Meanwhile Elizabeth had a problem on hand 
which had been a more or less difficult one for every English 
government since the time of Henry II (1171) — the Irish ques- 
tion. During the reigns of Edward VI and Mary affairs in Ireland 

1 Henry of Navarre was the first king of the Bourbon family; this famous 
dynasty reigned over France till the French Revolution (1792). The House of 
Valois had held the throne since 1328. 



2j8> HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

had been very unsatisfactory. All efforts to establish Protestantism 
had been unsuccessful. 

Under Elizabeth, matters for twenty years or more were no bet- 
ter. She was unable and unwilling to send an army large enough 
to subdue the island, and the Irish would not put aside their own 
petty quarrels to unite for the general good. Matters were further 
complicated by the landing of a body of troops led by a Sir James 
Fitzmaurice under the authority of the Pope and with the aid and 
countenance of Philip II. with the object of injuring Kli/.abeth and 
gaining Ireland politically for the Catholic i ause. The effort was 
a failure. An insurrection in Munstei (1579) under the leader- 
ship of the Earl of Desmond, the head of the great Fitzgerald 
family, was ruthlessly put down after four years' strife, and thou- 
sands perished chiefly from want and destitution. 

The English with a strange inconsistency followed the same 
methods with the Iri-.li which they condemned so violently in the 
Spaniards. Minister was desolated and the most of the territory 
forfeited to the crown. It was divided among the English adven- 
turers, who, in the end, were compelled to let the lands to Irish 
tenants, and thus set up a system of absentee landlordism. It 
mu>t be said, however, for the credit of Elizabeth and liurghley 
that they were opposed to this policy of extermination. 

328. Irish Rebellion. 1598-1602. — For ten or twelve yens 
Ireland was in comparative quiet, but trouble arose, partly from 
the attacks of the Irish on the few English settlers, whose treat- 
ment of the natives was such as to provoke resentment ; partly 
from the lawless and cruel treatment of the inhabitants by the 
troops left without pay ; partly from natural hatred of the English. 
This new rebellion broke out in Ulster. Here the Irish chiefs 
united and placed themselves under the Earl of Tyrone. Tyrone 
gained a victory over the English forces and the greater part of 
Ireland rallied to his support. This was the first national and re- 
ligious revolt against England. Largely through his own efforts 
the Earl of Essex was sent to Ireland to put down the rebellion, 



ESSEX AND LEICESTER 279 

but he was unsuccessful ; and it was not until 1602, under Lord 
Mountjoy, that the rebellion was finally crushed by a policy of 
starvation and extermination. 

329. Earl of Essex. — In the early part of Elizabeth's reign 
two young English noblemen had been spoken of as possible 
suitors for her hand. One was the Earl of Essex, the other the 
Earl of Leicester. After the death of Essex, Leicester married 
his widow, and when her son, the young Earl of Essex, grew up, 
gave him a position in his company of soldiers. This youth, who 
became one of the queen's later favorites, was a man of consider- 
able ability, but he had an overwhelming sense of his own im- 
portance and his attitude toward Elizabeth was often rude and 
presumptuous. It is said that she was once so offended by his 
lack of good manners that she boxed his ears. 

Essex was brave but rash, and his impatience with Elizabeth's 
methods often led him into serious difficulties. His failure in 
Ireland brought him back hastily to explain mutters to the queen. 
Bursting into her presence without regard to his muddy and travel- 
stained appearance, he made his excuse for his ill success. The 
queen decided that he needed to be taught a lesson and ordered 
him to be placed in temporary confinement. He was tried for 
exceeding his orders, and his various offices were taken away from 
him, but in time he was granted his freedom. Counting upon his 
general popularity to regain his position, Essex marched into Lon- 
don at the head of a small body of men to compel the queen to 
reinstate him and to dismiss his enemies. He was promptly arrested 
and convicted of treason. Very reluctantly Elizabeth signed his 
death warrant, and he was executed in 1600. 

330. Literary Development ; New Statesmen ; Raleigh. — The 
years succeeding the defeat of the Spanish Armada were very 
prosperous for England ; the whole nation was full of enthusiasm ; 
there were no foes to fear, and the energy which had been so con- 
spicuously displayed in naval and military fields now found an 
outlet in commerce, exploration, settlement, and, above all, in the 



2 SO 



HIST< >KV « IF ENGLAND 



field of literature. No period in the literary history of the world 
has surpassed the later years of Elizabeth's reign in the richness, 
fullness, variety, and extent of its poetry, prose, and especially the 

drama. Spenser, Marlowe, 
Johnson, Lyly, Bacon, 
Hooker, with many others, 
and, surpassing all, Shake- 
speare give to her time a 
literary glory which no 
subsequent reign has 
equaled. 

( Mher changes were tak- 
ing place. Nearly all of 
Elizabeth's old counselors 
had died, though Burghley 
lingered on almost to the 
close, faithful to his mis- 
tress to the very last. 
Younger men now came 
to the front. The most 
notable of these were the 
Earl of Essex, already 
spoken of, Sir Walter 
Raleigh, and Sir Robert 
Cecil, son of Lord 
Burghley. Essex and Raleigh with most of their companions were 
to make themselves and England famous, and would willingly 
have entered into all kinds of adventures and daring schemes. 
Cecil, trained by his father, continued the same line of cautious 
policy, and, when time for a decision came, Elizabeth generally 
took Cecil's side. 

More than any other man, Raleigh can be taken as typical of 
the age. He had a broad mind ready to accept new develop- 
ments in any field ; he was a great sea captain ; he was a good 




>IS \V U M K R \l I N.ll \M> II 

After .1 contemporary portrait 



ELIZABETH AND PARLIAMENT 28 1 

soldier, a statesman almost of the first rank, an historian, one of 
the best prose writers of the day, and a fair poet. He was an ac- 
complished courtier, a skilled diplomatist, a far-seeing colonizer. 
He was daring, courageous, ambitious, and, on occasion, almost as 
pitiless as Elizabeth herself. 

331. Parliament under Elizabeth; Monopolies. — Like her 
father, Elizabeth fully appreciated the advantages of appearing to 
rule with the support of Parliament, and in the early days of her 
reign she had comparatively little trouble ; but Parliament annoyed 
her with repeated petitions for her marriage, and, furthermore, its 
membership was more strongly Protestant than she liked. Its in- 
fluence had been steadily growing, and as time went on it was 
harder and harder to manage. She, therefore, tried to do without 
Parliaments, only calling thejn when she needed money. In her 
long reign of forty-five years there were only thirteen Parliaments. 

Elizabeth was niggardly to her supporters, and when she was 
compelled to reward them, she did it so as to cost her as little as 
possible. One way was to give to an individual the control over 
certain articles of trade or commerce, such as wine, salt, etc. 
These monopolies were usually granted for fixed periods and 
might be renewed or not. As early as 1597 strong objection to 
this practice was made in Parliament. In 1601 such a decided 
protest was made that Elizabeth, seeing that she must yield, did 
so gracefully. The message which was sent to Parliament closed 
with these words, "Though you have had, and may have, many 
princes more mighty and wise sitting in this seat, yet you never 
had, or ever shall have, any that will be more careful and loving." * 

332. Death of Elizabeth, 1603; Her Success. — During the 
last two or three years of her reign Elizabeth was a lonely old 
woman, but she never lost her courage or her activity. In the 
latter part of 1602 her health began to fail, and on March 24, 
1603, she died in the seventieth year of her age and the forty-fifth 
of her reign. 

1 Notwithstanding this, monopolies continued until the time of the Civil War. 



2,S2 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

Whatever were Elizabeth's faults, and they were many, she had 
an instinctive knowledge of what was best for England, and for 
England she lived. To appreciate how great her success was. it 
is only needful to compare the England of 155S with the England 
of 1603. With her closes the Tudor dynasty, perhaps the ablest 
that has governed England. The rule of the Tudors was practi- 
cally an absolute one, but they had such a clear sense of the real 
feelings of the people that they rarely came into conflict with 
them. In fact, England's experience of the evils of a factious 
nobilitv had been bitter enough to make her ready for a strong 
government, even though it was despotic. The old sentiment of 
independence wis. however, not lost ; it simply slumbered, ready 
at a touch to wake into life. 

333. Characteristics of the Reign, — With the possible excep- 
tion of the . no other period in English history 
has shown so great changes as the Tudor period; for there was 
scarcely a field of human interest whi< h was not revolutionized. 
Perhaps the only great exception was the condition of the ex- 
tremely poor, which continued very unsatisfactory, though serious 
vet mistaken efforts to better it were made by the enactment of 

Poor I aws. 

Taken as a whole, England was more prosperous at the 1 
of Elizabeth's reign than ever before. The long years of peace 
hid given trade, commerce, and agriculture the opportunity for 
development. One result of this was to raise the standard of 
living among all classes. In the country, stone houses took the 
place of wooden ones, glass wis used for windows, chimneys re- 
placed holes in the roof, pillows and bolsters supplanted hard 
round logs, and pewter plates and spoons those made of wood. 

Among the upper (lasses the changes were still more marked. 
Dress became rich and showy. Men and women alike wore silks, 
gold and silver cloth, velvets and damasks, as well as jewels and 
ornaments such as bracelets, earrings, brooches, and rings. Kuffs 
made of lawn cambric, which are so characteristic a feature of the 



CHARACTERISTICS OF ELIZABETH'S RE1CN 



28" 



Elizabethan portraits, were worn by both sexes. The extent and 
richness of some of the wardrobes can hardly be believed. Eliza- 
beth is said to have left three thousand gowns. 

334. Architecture ; Furniture ; Amusements. — The feeling of 
security led to great changes in the architecture of the period. 
Thick walls and narrow windows were no longer essential, and so 







tat 







( II \KI COTE II \LL 

An English manor house of the time of Queen Elizabeth 

the old castles were often modified, large windows and doorways 
were cut in the walls, moats were filled up and fortifications were 
demolished. Gothic architecture died out and a mixture of 
Gothic and Italian took its place, the best examples of which are 
to be found in the stately manor houses, which have come down 
to our own time. Around these handsome and extensive gardens 
were laid out. In the houses windows were as conspicuous as 
their absence had been in earlier times. The walls were hung 
with rich tapestries, the ceilings decorated with paintings, and the 
rooms adorned with handsome furniture. Among household and 
other articles which were introduced or came into general use 
were handkerchiefs, steel needles, mirrors, silk stockings, cambric, 
starch, sealing wax, potatoes (1563), newspapers (1588), and some- 
what later (16 10) forks. The floors were still strewn with rushes. 
One of the marked characteristics of the Elizabethan period 
was the great attention given to amusements of various kinds. 



284 1I1M< ,KV ' '' ' N( ' 1 AND 

Neither time nor noon< pared to make them attra 

Fairs, festivals, pageants, mas . etc, prere all entered 

into with /est. Elizabeth herself set the example in her B 
Progri I • made l>y her to 

her nobles <>r to the cities and universitu \ ich times, the 
shows and the at expenditure were almost beyond belief. 

335. The Drama ; Literature. — In nothing did the spirit of the 

more thm in the drama. Plays, masques, all< 

ical tlr.nn ileaux w< N 1 other 

I in literary history j ■ my plays. Thousandi 

ted, and then fell into obscurity. Only the 

irvived. The reign of Elizabeth saw almost the beginning 

of English drama, and in S taw its highest develop- 

ment. 1 Tii ■ « h 11 1 the aspii itions, the fail- 

Iness, the life, and the extravagant 1 
. n be learned better from the Elizabethan plays than 
i here, an I 

it 1- not only for the drama that the reign is distinguished 
in literature. The works of Edmund • poel 

Sir Philip Sidney. Sir Walter Raleigh, G 

m, and others, the lyrn 1 of the dramatists, 
and fugitive pieces, and the trai. from the 1 formed 

a wealth of literature hitherto unknown in English annals. 

336. Education. — When the monasteries were destroyed many 
schools went with them, but probably most of them were not a 
very great loss, However that may be, there were established in 
i md between 150.) and 1 r one hundred schools, some 
at the public expense, and not a few by private endowment The 
education was scanty and crude. The school work began at 6 \m- 
and lasted till 1 1 ; then went on again from 1 to 5. There were 

1 " Ralph Roist. "ut i5=A though written <• u 

1 mer Gurton's Needle " (1553), 

!v, w.is 
. 1501. With Marlowe's " TamburUir.e," 1587, the age- of the great drama 
began. 



VOYAGES l »F DISCOVERY 



2S: 



no holidays except a few days at Christmas, Easter, and Whitsun- 
tide. The children of the nobility and of the upper classes had 
private tutors. Life at the universities was much as it had been, 
and conditions were only slightly better than at the schools. At 
the same time education was more widely diffused. Every gentle- 



*?-** 




[ntekiob or mi. Grammas Schook \i Stb 

man was expected to be educated, and among the upper classes 
women not infrequently were as highly cultured as the men. The 
letters of the Paston family (1422-1509), which have been pre- 
served, show remarkable culture among the members of that 
family, and it cu\ hardly be the only instance. 

337. Voyages of Discovery and Settlement. — The voyages of 
Drake and others have already been mentioned (§319), but 
these were not all; expeditions of almost equal importance were 
undertaken, and besides these, schemes for definite colonization 
were set on foot. One of the first was the patent granted to Sir 
Humphrey Gilbert in 1578, but this amounted to nothing. In 
1583, however, Sir Humphrey himself sailed for the New World, 
having a fleet of five ships carrying two hundred and sixty men. 
They reached Newfoundland and Cape Breton, but the storms 



286 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

were so severe that the attempt at colonization was given up. 
On the return voyage the brave commander went down with all 
his crew, and of the five vessels only one reached England. This 
failure did not deter others, notably Sir Walter Raleigh (§ 330), 
who by his various efforts to colonize Virginia (1584-1587) was 
the real founder of English settlement in America, although he 
never saw the region in which he felt so great an interest. 

338. Commercial Spirit; Development of the Middle Class. — 
One great result of the policy of Elizabeth's reign, that of peace 
and economy, honest money and rewards of merit, was the won- 
derful growth of the commercial spirit. The English merchants 
were quick to take advantage of the new fields opened to them, 
and men of all classes took part in business and other enterprises, 
and the wealth of the nation was vastly increased. 

A result of the increased wealth was the growth in power and 
influence of what had now become an important factor in English 
life — a great middle class. It was the representatives of this class 
who were now taking the lead in English political life, and in the 
House of Commons they were in the majority. Under Elizabeth 
they began to be restive, as has been shown by their objection to 
monopolies, but they were too proud of Elizabeth and too loyal to 
the queen who had done so much for England, to do more than 
grumble and petition. It was evident, however, that her successor 
would need skill, ability, and tact to live harmoniously with his 
Parliaments. 

References. — Green, Short History, chap, vii (§§ 3-8); Gardiner, Stu- 
dent's History, chaps, xxviii-xxx ; Terry, History, Part III, Book II, chaps, 
vi-vii ; Tout, Advanced History, Book V, chaps, vi-vii ; Greighton, Age of 
Elizabeth, Book I, chap, v, Book II, chaps, i-ii, Book III, chaps, iii-iv, Books 
IV-VII; Adams and Stephens, Select Documents, §§ 167-180; Traill, Social 
England, vol. Ill, chaps, xi-xii; Cheyney, Readings, chap xiii; Colby, Selec- 
tions, §§ 61-67; Kendall, Source-Book, §§ 52-60, 68; Lee, Source-Book, 
§§ 133-147- 



THE STUARTS 



287 



The Stuarts 

James I 
(VI of Scotland) 

1 603- 1 625 
= Anne of Denmark 



Henry CHARLES I 

d. 1612 1625-1649 

= Henrietta Maria of France 



Elizabeth 
Frederick, Elector Palatine 



I Prince Sophia 1 

Charles II Mary James II Henry Henrietta Maria Rupert = Ernest 

1660-1685 1685-1688 d. 1660 = Philip Augustus 

= Catherine =(i)Anne D. of Orleans of Hanover 

of Braganza Hyde (or Brunswick) 

d. 1671 Descendants 

(2) Mary of Modena (indirect GEORGE I 

Stuart line) of England 

1714-1727 



= William of Orange 

I 
William III 

1688-1702 

= Mary II 

d. James II 

1688-1694 



(1) Mary II 
1688-1694 



(1) Anne 

1702-17 14 

= George of 

Denmark 



(2) James 

" The Old Pretender " 
= Mary Sobieski 



Charles Edward 

" The Young Pretender ' 

d. 1788 



Henry 

Cardinal Stuart 

d. 1807 



1 Elizabeth had several children, but Sophia was the oldest Protestant child. 



CHAPTER XIX 
STRUGGLE AGAINST PERSONAL RULE 

339. James I. 1603. — James I of England (VI of Scot- 
land) was the son of Mary Queen of Scots 1 and Henry 
Stuart, Lord Darnley (§§ 306, 307) ; both were great-grand- 
children of Margaret, daughter of Henry VII, and by the usual 
laws of inheritance James was the legitimate successor of Eliza- 
beth. 2 The birth and bringing up of James had been unfortunate. 
Except for a few months in Denmark he had never been out of 
Scotland, and was therefore not only unacquainted with foreign life 
and thought, but also with the conditions and customs in the 
country over which he was to reign. Elizabeth understood both 
England and the English ; James understood neither. The time 
for despotic rule in England had ended, and the period of transi- 
tion to a constitutional government would have been full of diffi- 
culties even to the most tactful monarch, so the failure of James 
and his immediate successors is not surprising. 

James had been well educated, and was possessed of considerable 
intellectual ability. He was by nature kindly in disposition, and 
desirous of avoiding extremes in anything. At the same time he 
could be stubborn in holding to an opinion or a policy. He was 

1 The attitude of James toward his mother has often been called in question. It 
should be remembered that he never saw her after he was a year old, and that he 
was brought up among those to whom she was the incarnation of all that was evil. 
These facts are a palliation, though not a defense, of his conduct toward her. He 
did, however, destroy Fotheringay Castle, and he raised a handsome monument to 
her in Henry VII Chapel, Westminister Abbey. 

2 His succession was based on this right, for Parliament simply recognized him. 
It is true that he had been designated by Elizabeth on her deathbed as her suc- 
cessor, but unratified by Parliament, apart from the claim by birth, this had no value. 
According to the will of Henry VIII, under which Elizabeth herself succeeded, the 
legal heir was a descendant of Mary Brandon, Henry's younger sister. 

288 



JAMES I 



289 



vain of his acquirements and had an exaggerated estimate of his 
ability. Not the least of his defects was a total lack of power to 
read character, nor was he better able to judge of the currents of 
public opinion or the signs of the times. He was lazy, dilatory, 
and careless, fond of theory, but hated practice. In person he was 
tall and ungainly, shambling 
in his walk, slovenly in his 
dress and habits, and a great 
drinker, though by no means 
a drunkard. 

340. James comes to Lon- 
don. 1603. — Sir Robert 
Carey, 1 a cousin of Elizabeth, 
by three days' hard riding, it 
is said, carried tidings of the 
queen's death to James at 
Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh. 
Three days later James was 
proclaimed King of England, 

Scotland, and Ireland, just a century after the marriage of James 
IV of Scotland to Margaret, the daughter of Henry VII, whose 
policy thus bore fruit after many years. 

James set out almost at once for London. His journey thither 
occupied a month, and along the whole route he was received with 
enthusiasm. With his queen, Anne, Princess of Denmark, he was 
crowned at Westminster (July 25, 1603). James decided to fol- 
low the policy of Elizabeth, and continued her ministers in office, 
making Sir Robert Cecil his chief adviser. This course, the best 
that he could have taken, was not acceptable either to the Puri- 
tans or the Catholics. 

341. Millenary Petition; Hampton Court Conference, 1604; 
Bible of 1611. — On his way to London James was presented by 
the Puritans with a petition, known as the Millenary Petition be- 

1 He was a grandson of Mary, sister of Anne Boleyn. 




290 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



cause it was reported to have been signed by one thousand 
clergymen. 1 In this some modification of the use of religious 
ceremonies and clerical vestments was asked for. The requests 
were moderate, but it soon became evident that James had no 
notion of allowing any alteration in church services or organiza- 
tion. However, a conference between the English bishops and 
four leading Puritan clergymen was held at Hampton Court 
Palace, and hence known as the Hampton Court Conference 
(1604). James himself took a prominent part in this meeting, 
the only important result of which was an arrangement for a new 
version of the Bible, which appeared in 161 1, and which, on 
account of its excellence, displaced all previous English transla- 
tions. Known as the "Authorized Version," it remains to this 
day a model of literary English. 

At this conference James took the position of a firm supporter 
of episcopacy, stating as his motto the adage, " No bishop, no 
king," while as his guiding principle he proclaimed the divine 
right of kings. 2 

342. Plots against James; Raleigh. 1603. — Two conspira- 
cies against James were very soon set on foot ; the one known as 
the Main Plot, and the other as the Bye Plot. The chief interest 
in these plots is the fact that Sir Walter Raleigh was accused of 
being concerned in the Main Plot. According to the custom of 
the day, he was required to prove his innocence, to answer charges 
without preparation, and was forbidden the assistance of counsel. 
Raleigh was convicted, but was reprieved and thrown into the 
Tower, where he remained thirteen years. 

343. James and Religion. — James was inclined to allow the 
private exercise of religion, provided Catholics would acknowledge 
that loyalty to him was above loyalty to the Pope, and would agree 
that there should be no increase in their numbers. This was a 

1 In reality the signers numbered about 800. 

2 It is to James's discredit that ten of the principal signers of the Millenary 
Petition were thrown into prison, and narrowly escaped the charge of treason for 
their action. 



THE GUNPOWDER PLOT 



29I 



demand to which neither the Pope nor the Catholic party could be 
expected to agree. However, James remitted fines for non-attend- 
ance at church services, with the result that there were many empty 
pews in the parish churches and great gatherings of Catholics 
outside them. The Protestants took it for granted that these 




Hampton Court from the Thames 

worshipers were new converts, and James in alarm went back to 
the policy of Cecil. All priests were ordered to leave the country, 
several were hanged, and the fines for recusancy were rigidly 
enforced. 

344. The Gunpowder Plot. 1605. — The extremists were 
so irritated at what had happened that after the fashion of 
the day they turned from peaceful means to conspiracy, resulting 
in the " Gunpowder Plot." The cold-blooded plan to destroy 
innocent and unsuspecting men along with those against whom 
there was a grudge or who might take hostile action distin- 
guished the Gunpowder Plot from all others, and makes its anni- 
versary still remembered in England. There is much in the plot 
which cannot be explained, but on the whole it would seem that 
tradition is not far wrong. The men who were concerned in.it 
were not ruffians, but gentlemen by birth. In substance the plan 
was to blow up with gunpowder the king and Parliament on the open- 
ing day of the session, November 5, 1605. For this purpose there 
were stored in a cellar under the House of Lords thirty-six barrels 
of gunpowder. Everything was ready, when one of the conspir- 



292 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



ators sent to his brother-in-law, a member of the House of Lords, 
a letter of warning. Through this the government discovered the 
plot and apprehended Guy Fawkes, the man who had charge of 
the powder. The other conspirators fled into the country, there 
to attempt to raise a rebellion. The leader and a few friends were 
surrounded in a house in Staffordshire, and killed. Fawkes, after 
being tortured to obtain evidence, was, with several companions, 
executed. Among others Garnet, the head of the English Jesuits, 
was put to death. His trial failed to show any complicity on his 
part, but only a knowledge that a plot existed of which he did not 
give notice to the government. 1 As a result of the plot severe laws 
against the Catholics were passed and carried out relentlessly, and 
the cause of religious toleration was indefinitely retarded. 

345. James's First Parliament, 1 604-1 611 ; Foreign Policy. — 
The extravagance of James soon forced him to summon a Par- 
liament. This sat from 1604 until 161 1, and was continually out 
of harmony with the king. James lectured the members, dwelling 
on his favorite doctrine of the divine right of kings, while Parlia- 
ment insisted on its privileges and the right to withhold supplies 
until grievances were redressed. James sought to replenish his 
treasury by laying customs duties, selling titles of nobility, im- 
posing excessive fines, granting monopolies, etc. ; but so far as 
Parliament was concerned he obtained very little money. 

Early in his reign peace was made with Spain and he sought an 
alliance with her, though at the same time he was friendly with 
France. In foreign affairs James's policy in the main was wise 
because he wished for peace, which was the best thing for 
England, but he was unable to carry out his policy in a states- 
manlike manner. 

346. Scotland and Ireland. — One thing upon which James 
had set his heart was the union of England and Scotland, for, 
though he was king of both countries, each was governed by its 
own laws and its own Parliament. He had, without authority, as- 

1 Technically this is called Misprision of Treason. 



COLONIZATION AND COMMERCE 293 

sumed the title of King of Great Britain and Ireland, but Parlia- 
ment refused to take any steps looking toward a union. 1 

The conquest of Ireland was almost coincident with the death of 
Elizabeth ; therefore James was really the first king of England, 
Scotland, and Ireland. Ireland, though subdued and helpless, 
was by no means friendly. Hoping to improve matters, James 
granted to colonists from England and Scotland large tracts of 
land in the north of Ireland, declared to be forfeited to the crown 
on account of a small rebellion in 1607. Thus were formed the 
Protestant districts of Ulster. At the time (161 1) this was the 
wildest part of Ireland ; in after years it became the most in- 
dustrious and wealthy. This colonizing scheme 2 had both good 
and evil effects ; on the one hand it strengthened the English rule, 
while on the other it gave rise to much hard feeling, so that a 
bitter enmity arose between the Protestants and Catholics of 
those districts, an enmity which exists to this day. 

347. Colonization ; Commerce. — Meanwhile the spirit of coloni- 
zation was active. In 1607 Jamestown in Virginia was founded, 
and earlier a colony in the small West India island of Barbados. 
These were followed by Plymouth, Massachusetts, settled in 1620 
by the Pilgrims ; Massachusetts Bay, in 1629 ; Maryland, in 1632 ; 
and others established at various dates till the settlement of 
Georgia, in 1732. 

With the development of colonization there was the increase of 
trade and commerce. In 1600 Elizabeth had given a charter to a 
commercial company known as the East India Company, organized 
for securing the trade of the far East. In India trading stations, 
or factories as they were called, were established, and thus began 

1 There can be little question that the Commons were right in their position. To 
have united the two kingdoms would at that time almost inevitably have strength- 
ened the royal power in both England and Scotland, which would have been a 
calamity. That which the Commons refused to do in 1607 they did gladly in 1707. 

2 In order to raise funds for this undertaking James founded a new order of 
hereditary knighthood, and sold what were known as baronetcies. The price for 
each title was ^"1800. The shields of baronets still bear a red hand, known as the 
red hand of Ulster. 



294 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



England's interest in India. Stations were established in Africa 
also, and everywhere England was beginning to contend with 
the Dutch for the supremacy in commerce. English ships now 
traded with almost all the ports of the Mediterranean, and with 
Spain, Portugal, France, Hamburg, and the Baltic ports. A large 
business was done in the fisheries off Newfoundland and in the 
whale fisheries of the North Atlantic. 

348. Raleigh's Venture, 1617; His Execution. 16 18. — 
James was ready to listen to any scheme for making money, of 
which he stood in so great need, and when Sir Walter Raleigh, 
who had been thirteen years in the Tower (§ 342), offered, if re- 
leased, to head an expedition to Guiana in search of some gold 
mines of which he had heard in his visit to that country many 
years before, the king willingly acceded to the proposition. 

Sir Walter started in 161 7. He agreed not to take any warlike 
measures against the Spaniards, with whom James was now at 
peace, a promise which it was impossible to keep, for the alleged 
mines were in territory claimed by Spain, any intrusion into which 
she would certainly resent. After many difficulties the small fleet 
reached the mouth of the Orinoco, and Raleigh waited there 
while some of his vessels went up the river. They found a 
Spanish settlement and, in a skirmish which ensued, were 
defeated. Raleigh was compelled to go back to England. 
Meantime the Spaniards demanded that he should be punished as 
a pirate. James, fearful of a break with Spain, finally caused 
Raleigh to be executed under the old unjust sentence of treason. 
The common view at the time was that he was executed simply to 
please Spain, and modern investigation has only confirmed it. 

349. Favorites. — Sir Robert Cecil, who had been created 
Earl of Salisbury, died in 1612, and James determined to rule 
without a chief minister of state. Unfortunately he could not get 
along without some kind of adviser, and so came under the in- 
fluence of favorites, men who were interested simply in their own 
advancement and concerns. The first of these was Robert Carr, 



THE SPANISH SCHEME 



2 95 




Coat of Arms of the 
Stuart Kings 



a Scotsman, who was made Viscount Rochester, and later Earl 
of Somerset. After several years he fell into disgrace, and a new 
favorite was found in George Villiers, afterwards Earl, and later, 
Duke of Buckingham. It was soon recognized that no plan or 
policy had a chance of success unless it 
was approved by him, and so he became 
the real ruler of the land. 

350. Prince Charles and the Spanish 
Scheme. 1616. — The year which saw 
the death of Cecil (161 2) saw also that 
of Prince Henry, James's eldest son, who 
was about nineteen. He was a youth of 
the greatest promise, and there have 
always been suspicions that his death was 
not wholly the result, as claimed, of cold 
and fever. The removal of Prince 

Henry and Cecil deprived James of the only men who might 
have restrained him from his foolish course. The heir to the 
throne was now Charles, the second son. James, full of the de- 
sire for peace and an alliance with Spain, and supported by 
Buckingham, determined to marry Charles to the Spanish Infanta 
Maria, granddaughter of Philip II and sister of the ruling king of 
Spain. Instinctively the English people felt that, if carried out, 
such a policy would make England the practical supporter of 
Spain. This belief united men who would not otherwise have 
acted together — those who feared for their estates, those who 
feared for their religion, and those who feared for their country. 

James now began to show toleration toward the Catholics, and 
for the first time in many years Catholics had an easy time, 
provided they were content to remain quiet. This course was 
unpopular, for the people at large regarded favor to Catholics as 
favor to Spain. Spain was willing enough to carry on negotiations 
with James, for, as long as they continued, there was not much 
likelihood of England's interference with Spanish designs. 



296 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

351. Thirty Years' War. 1618-1648. — In 1618 the Thirty 
Years' War, one of the most desolating wars in history, broke out 
on the Continent. The immediate occasion for the outbreak 
was a struggle for the crown of Bohemia between Frederick, 
Elector- Palatine of the Rhine, and Ferdinand of Austria ; but 
it really was a struggle between Catholicism and Protestantism. 
Frederick had married Elizabeth, 1 (16 13), James's only daughter, 
and, as the representative of Protestantism, was strongly supported 
by English opinion ; but when he begged James for help his ap- 
peal was refused, though volunteers were allowed to join his forces. 
It was not long before Frederick lost both the crown of Bohemia 
and the Palatinate. (App. 1, §§ 143-152.) 

352. Parliaments of 1614 and 1621. — In 1614 James called his 
second Parliament, but it was unwilling to do anything for him until 
he abandoned his illegal methods of taxation, and ceased his inter- 
ference with elections. James in anger dissolved the Parliament, 
which in consequence of not having passed a single act was called 
the " Addled Parliament." James now began to raise money by 
benevolences, somewhat as Henry VII had done, but he was soon 
forced to call his third Parliament (162 1). This Parliament re- 
fused to grant supplies until grievances had been redressed. 
First it dealt with monopolies ; these were hated chiefly as an 
abuse of royal power, though monopolies of such necessaries of 
life as salt, oil, etc., were always unpopular. 

353. Impeachment of Bacon. 1621. — The next thing that 
Parliament took up was the conduct of government officials, and 
Francis Bacon, the Lord Chancellor, was chosen as an example. 
He was a friend to monopolies, and some suitors in his court 
claimed that he had received bribes. In those days it was gener- 
ally understood that presents were to be given to judges and others ; 
indeed it was a recognized method of payment for services ren- 
dered. Bacon had received such gifts or bribes before judgment 

1 After the death of Queen Anne (1714), the grandson of Elizabeth, George of 
Hanover, came to the throne of England as George I. 



CONFLICT WITH PARLIAMENT 



297 




was pronounced, and while the case was still pending, thus laying 
himself open to grave charges. He confessed the facts and was 
sentenced to pay a fine of ^10,000, to be imprisoned in the 
Tower at the king's pleas- 
ure, and to retire from 
public life. He was even 
forbidden to come within 
twelve miles of the court. 
James, probably more be- 
cause he considered Bacon's 

Gold Coin of James I 

impeachment an infringe- This coi^ commemorating the union of Eng- 

ment on his royal rights ! and / f^ Sco ^ n . < J' . was the first t0 bear the 

•> & legend Great Britain. 

than from compassion, re- 
mitted the fine and released him after two days' imprisonment. 1 
The essential point in the case, as in the prosecution of certain of 
the monopolies, was that the Commons had revived the right of 
impeachment of the officers of the crown, a weapon which could 
inflict powerful blows (§ 162, note). 

354. Conflict with Parliament. 1622. — Having disposed of 
the monopolies and of Bacon, the Parliament was ready to grant 
James some small supplies. After a recess it came together 
again, and at this time the negotiations with Spain were being 
carried on. The Commons immediately sent word to the king, 
requesting him to marry his son to a Protestant princess. James 
replied that Parliament had no right to discuss matters upon 
which he had not consulted them, and that they should not 
" meddle with mysteries of state." Not only this, but he 
threatened to punish members for their words in the House. 
This roused the ire of the Commons, and they put on record a 
notable statement of their right to free speech in the House, and 
to an unhindered discussion of all matters relating to the realm. 



1 Bacon claimed, and, so far as records show, justly, that in no case had his de- 
cisions been affected by bribes, but with that question the Commons were not 
concerned. 



298 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

James was so angered that he sent for the Journal containing this 
declaration, and tore out the leaf with his own hands. In a few 
days he dissolved the Parliament, and threw several of the 
prominent members into prison. 

355. The Spanish Scheme Fails. 1623. — Meantime the ne- 
gotiations in regard to the Spanish marriage dragged on. Buck- 
ingham and Prince Charles resolved to see what a visit to Madrid 
would do. When they reached that city, they found that not only 
all sorts of difficulties were thrown in the way, but that the In- 
fanta herself was unalterably opposed to a marriage with any 
heretic. After numerous disputes and adventures they gave up 
the matter in disgust and returned to England, to be received 
with enthusiasm, not because either Charles or Buckingham was 
popular, but because the proposed alliance with Spain had failed. 
Buckingham now turned to France and proposed that Charles 
should marry Henrietta Maria, the sister of the king, Louis 
XIII. 

356. Last Days of James. 1624-1625. — The last Parlia- 
ment which James called (1624) pronounced monopolies illegal 
and canceled all grants except bona fide patents which were to 
run fourteen years. War was declared against Spain, and troops 
for the aid of Frederick were authorized to be raised in England. 
Of the twelve thousand Englishmen who went out to fight the 
cause of Protestantism, fully three fourths perished in Holland 
from cold and disease, so poorly furnished were they with needful 
supplies. (App. 1, § 145.) 

In Scotland James's course had been as ill-advised as in Eng- 
land. Greatly pleased by the reception which he had received 
from the strong churchmen in England, he had resolved to intro- 
duce episcopacy into Scotland. Bishops were appointed, and 
the Presbyterian system was modified, though not without opposi- 
tion. As a matter of fact the bishops had little power. 

James died in March, 1625, and was succeeded by his son 
Charles I. 



CHARLES I 



299 



357. Charles I Marries. 1625. — Charles was at that time 
twenty-four years old. In many ways he was a better man than 
his father, and he was unquestion- 
ably desirous of ruling well. His 
private life was exemplary and he 
was free from many of the vices 
common in his day. On the other 
hand he was obstinate, impulsive, 
unwise, impatient of detail, inclined 
to double dealing, and had, like his 
father, an overweening sense of his 
divine right as king. He was 
handsome and dignified, devoted 
to the church, and, in his way, 
pious. He could not understand 
any point of view other than his 
own, and was rarely able to make 
up his mind what line of action to 
pursue. He failed to understand 
his people, and though he had de- 
voted friends he was never popular 
except for the few months after his 
return from Spain. 

A treaty with France had been 
arranged in 1624, and before he called his first Parliament the 
marriage with Henrietta Maria of France had been celebrated by 
proxy in front of the doors of the great church of Notre Dame in 
Paris (June, 1625^, and the young queen of sixteen came to England. 

358. Spanish War; First Parliament. 1625. —When the 
first Parliament of Charles met, the nation was already at war with 
Spain, and he naturally expected that large grants of money 
would be made ; but he was granted only two comparatively small 
amounts, and "tonnage and poundage" 1 for one year, though 

i" Tonnage and poundage" was another name for customs duties. 




Charles I 

After a painting by Vandyke 



300 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

it had been usual to make such a grant for the lifetime of a new 
king. The Commons distrusted Buckingham and his influence 
upon the king, and the power to grant or withhold supplies was in 
those days the only weapon which they could use, for even the 
right of impeachment was still questioned. Charles wrathfully 
dismissed the Parliament, and he and Buckingham managed to 
send off an expedition to Spain, but it was a failure. 

359. Charles's Second Parliament, 1626; Impeachment of 
Buckingham. — Charles, from want of funds, was compelled to call 
another Parliament (1626), but this second body was no more 
tractable than the first. Charles had tried to get rid of the leaders 
of the former House by making them sheriffs and hence ineligible 
for election to Parliament. But it was of no avail, for new chiefs 
appeared. Under the leadership of Sir John Eliot, a Cornish 
gentleman, the Commons impeached Buckingham, charging him 
with mismanaging the revenue, with buying and selling offices, and 
with lending ships to France. These charges were true, but a 
number of others included in the impeachment were clearly unjust. 
The vote passed the Commons, and Sir John Eliot and Sir Dudley 
Digges were chosen to present the charges before the House of 
Lords. Charles, under the pretext that they had used seditious 
language, threw Eliot and Digges into prison. Parliament refused 
to transact any business until their release. When they were set at 
liberty the prosecution was again taken up, and Charles, to save Buck- 
ingham, dissolved Parliament, without getting a penny of supplies. 

360. Forced Loans. — In order to obtain funds Charles had 
recourse to forced loans, benevolences, etc. Many of those who 
refused to pay were committed to prison, among them Eliot ; 
others had soldiers billeted upon them, or were compelled to join 
the army or navy. In 1627 war broke out with France, 1 and to pro- 
vide for it a forced loan was attempted. For denying that this was 
legal the Chief Justice was dismissed from the bench. Five gentle- 

1 This war was occasioned by King Charles sending the French attendants of 
the queen out of England. 



CHARLES AND PARLIAMENT 30 1 

men who refused to pay were thrown into prison, and when a writ of 
habeas corpus x was issued in their favor, the jailer replied that the 
prisoners were kept by the king's order and could not be released. 
When their case came before the court, the judges sent the prisoners 
back to jail, thus practically acknowledging that the king had the 
right to imprison at his pleasure. Charles, however, finding that 
he did not gain anything in this way set the five gentlemen free. 

361. Charles's Third Parliament. 1628. — Finding it impossible 
to get along without supplies, Charles called his third Parliament. 
Among its members was Sir Thomas Wentworth, who, with Eliot, 
John Pym, and Sir Edward Coke, took the lead in the great struggle 
for the rights of the individual in regard to person and property. 
This matter took precedence of all other business. At first the 
grievances were drawn up in the shape of a bill, but the king re- 
fused to consider it ; then the Commons drew up a statement in 
the form of a petition enumerating the grievances of the past and 
providing for the future. Wentworth withdrew his support from this. 
Charles at first refused to have anything to do with the petition, 
but finding that it had the support of the Lords and that he could 
not get anything out of the Parliament unless it was signed, he finally 
attached his signature and the Petition of Right became law (1628). 

362. The Petition of Right. 1628. — The four subjects of the 
Petition were : martial law, billeting of soldiers, arbitrary taxa- 
tion, and arbitrary imprisonment. It made provision that martial 
law should not be employed in time of peace ; that the soldiers 
should not be quartered upon private citizens against their wish ; 
that all such methods of raising money as a forced gift, loan, be- 
nevolence, tax, or such like charge without consent of Parliament 
should be considered illegal ; and that no one should be imprisoned 
without some definite charge. As soon as it was known that the 
king had signed the Petition there was great rejoicing over all Eng- 

1 Habeas corpus — the writ issued by a judge or proper officer demanding that 
the prisoner should be brought before him to see if the commitment to prison was 
legal or justly made. 



302 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



land, and Parliament immediately granted Charles five subsidies 
G£35<>,ooo). 

The Petition of Right T has always been considered one of the 
great constitutional safeguards of English liberty, but its importance 
lies in the fact that by it the people asserted and gained the right 
to set a limit to the arbitrary power of the king and his govern- 
ment. It was a statement of principles, but it made no provision 
for carrying them out; for instance, while it required that each man 
should have a trial, there was nothing to prevent that trial from 
being an unfair one, or from being held before judges wholly in 
the king's interest. No surety was given for the appointment of 
impartial judges, and they continued, therefore, to be appointed and 
removed at the king's pleasure. Again, the language was vague, 
so that within a week a serious question arose between the king 
and Parliament as to its meaning. But with all these shortcomings 
it marks a definite stage in the struggle for constitutional liberty. 

The Commons next took up the question of tonnage and pound- 
age, which they held to be a tax, though the king claimed that 
these duties did not come under the Petition of Right. They had 
been granted by Charles's first Parliament for only a year, but he 
had collected them ever since. The Commons, moreover, renewed 
their attack on Buckingham, so Charles prorogued Parliament. 

363. Assassination of Buckingham ; Rochelle Expedition. 1628. 
— Having now enough money, the king planned an expedition 
for the relief of the Protestants of Rochelle in France, which was 
besieged by the French forces. Buckingham was to lead it, but 
while he was at Portsmouth ready to embark, he was assassinated. 

The expedition sailed for Rochelle, but when it arrived off the 
harbor and the masters of the merchant vessels which had been 
pressed into service saw the preparation for defense, they refused 
to go into action and Rochelle was left to its fate. Charles 
later (1630) made peace with France and Spain. 

1 It was called the Petition of Right to show that it was intended to explain 
old rights and privileges, not to curtail royal prerogatives or gain new liberties. 



CHARLES AND PARLIAMENT 



303 



364. Religious Difficulties. 1629. — Meantime other difficulties 
existed regarding religious doctrines and practices. The Catholic 
successes on the Continent, known in history as the Counter- 
Reformation, had frightened ' the English Protestants. Besides, 
there were the negotiations of James and Charles with France and 
Spain, both Catholic powers, and in addition the fact that Queen 
Henrietta Maria was a Catholic. 

The preaching and teaching of the men trained in the con- 
tinental schools during Mary's reign had brought its legitimate 
fruit, and a large number of the educated classes were now strong 
Calvinists and Protestants, while their representatives had an over- 
whelming majority in Parliament. To them uniformity in Cal- 
vinistic doctrine was essential. Tolerance, either of another's 
belief, or of his religious practice, if it differed from Calvinism, 
was believed to be a positive sin. 

On the other hand, there was a party of High Churchmen 
strongly opposed to Calvinism, laying much stress on ritual and 
ceremony. The followers of this party, believing that the king was 
the head of the church, were stanch supporters of the royal 
authority and high in favor with Charles. The Puritans believed 
that unless the royal power was curtailed, it meant the complete 
supremacy of High Church authority. Religion and politics were, 
therefore, inextricably interwoven, and gave a bitterness and 
relentlessness to the struggle which a purely political conflict 
would not have had. 

365. Parliament of 1629. Eliot's Resolutions. Parliament 
Dissolved. 1629. — Parliament met in 1629. The question of 
tonnage and poundage came up again. One of the members of 
Parliament had refused to pay this tax and had been imprisoned. 
Parliament claimed that his arrest was an attack on their privileges, 
one of which was that members should be secure from arrest. 1 

1 This would seem to have been an extravagant claim, for Parliament was not in 
session at the time, but technically there was something to be said for it. Pym 
urged the Commons to dispute tonnage and poundage only on the ground that it 
was illegally levied. 



3°4 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



Charles steadfastly refused to let the officers who had arrested 
the men appear before the Commons, and adjourned the House. 
He was unsuccessful in his efforts to influence members, and when 
the House came together again he sent orders for another adjourn- 
ment (March 2, 1629). The members, fearing that Parliament 
would be dissolved, shut the doors so as to keep the king's mes- 
senger from coming in, and also to insure privacy. Then fol- 
lowed a scene of the wildest confusion, during which the Speaker 
was forced to remain in his chair while three resolutions, offered 
by Eliot, were agreed to with shouts of assent. 

The substance of the famous articles was that whoever should 
bring in innovations in religion or any opinions differing from the 
" true and orthodox church " ; or who should advise the taking 
and levying of tonnage and poundage, if not granted by Parlia- 
ment, or be an actor therein ; or who should voluntarily yield or 
pay said subsidies, these not being granted by Parliament — should 
be reputed a capital enemy to the kingdom and commonwealth. 
As soon as the resolutions were passed the House adjourned. In 
a few days Charles dissolved Parliament, and none was called for 
eleven years. 

366. Punishment of Sir John Eliot and Others. — Charles 
determined to punish the chief of his enemies. Nine members of 
Parliament were brought before the Privy Council. Most of them 
apologized after experiencing imprisonment and were released ; 
the others were brought before the Court of King's Bench. 
These denied the jurisdiction of the court, claiming that they 
could not be called in question for what was said within the 
House of Commons. They were charged with riot and sedition, 
and were condemned to pay fines, and to lie in prison until the 
fines were paid and apologies made to the king. Sir John Eliot, 
who was one of them, declined to pay the fine or to apologize. 
He lay in the Tower three years ; then, having contracted con- 
sumption, he begged to be allowed his liberty. Charles refused, 
and in a month Eliot died (1632), a martyr to the cause of parlia- 



PERSONAL RULE OF CHARLES I 



305 



mentary privilege and political liberty. To the earnest and 
respectful petition of his son that his body might be taken to his 
old home, Charles heartlessly replied, " Let Sir John Eliot be 
buried in the church of that parish where he died." So he was 
buried within the inclosure of the Tower and his grave is now 
unknown. Eliot's companions in imprisonment, Valentine and 
Strode, remained in the Tower until they were released in 1640. 




Costumes of the Nobility, Time of Charles I 

367. Personal Rule of Charles. 1629-1640. — Charles now 
entered upon the second well-defined period of his reign — that of 
personal government — during which he tried to get on without 
Parliament. This might have been possible had it not been for 
the money question. Though Charles was not extravagant, he was 
not economical, and the ordinary revenues were insufficient. It 
must not be supposed that the government was altogether bad ; it 
was the principle upon which the government was administered, its 
illegal methods of raising money, and the punishments it inflicted 
for refusals to pay fines and levies, that were evil. Charles and his 
counselors failed to realize that some compromise between king 
and Parliament was needful. The Commons were equally unable 



306 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

to understand the situation. A conflict was inevitable, but in 
bringing it to an issue Charles was certainly the most to blame. 

Charles's later advisers were Richard Weston, afterwards Earl of 
Portland, Lord Treasurer; William Laud, afterwards Archbishop 
of Canterbury ; and Sir Thomas Wentvvorth, afterwards Earl of 
Strafford — all able men. Weston was a good financier, and his 
skill was of the utmost advantage to Charles. But Wentvvorth 
and Laud were the most influential. 

368. Sir Thomas Wentworth ; Laud. — Wentworth's course has 
always been something of an enigma : he was one of the most 
earnest participators in the early debates which led to the 
passage of the Petition of Right, and had himself drawn the 
bill first presented to the king, but took no active part in 
the debate regarding the Petition itself, and then went over to 
the royal side, becoming the king's earnest supporter. He was a 
firm believer in the royal power, and seems to have been honest in 
his conviction that a despotic rule was best for the country, and 
that it was more likely that a king would be intelligent and patriotic 
than a Parliament. But he had an ill-concealed contempt for 
public opinion, for the people as the source of power, and for 
individual liberty. 

William Laud, the last of the three great advisers, was, like 
Wentworth, conspicuously an honest man. He was a zealous 
High Churchman and hated Puritanism. He was a strong up- 
holder of uniformity in church services, and indeed of outward 
conformity in every way. He was a persecutor, just as those in 
power had been under Mary and Elizabeth. He differed from 
them in this, that he did not put to death, but all that imprison- 
ment, mutilation, loss of position, and exile could do was done. 
The press was under the control of the archbishop, therefore no 
Puritan sermon, tract, or treatise was allowed to be published ; it 
had been customary in many places for the churches to be used as 
halls for discussion and meetings of various kinds ; this was strictly 
prohibited, and lecturers and private chaplains were forbidden to 



THE STAR CHAMHER 



307 



address an audience. When men and women met in the woods 
or in barns to hold devotional services they were seized and tried 
for illegal worship. Like Wentworth, Land had no sympathy with 
free thought and the doctrine of individual liberty. One result of 
his policy was to send twenty thousand men and women of the 
sturdiest blood in England to seek a home in the wilds of North 
America. In this way Laud was really the founder of Anglo- 
Saxon supremacy in North America, for it is hardly to be supposed 
that except to escape religious persecution so many of that class 
would have braved the suffering and the risks of a seventeenth 
century emigration. 

369. The Star Chamber ; High Commission ; Council of the 
North. — The government of the country was now practically 
carried on by Wentworth and Laud. There were three tribunals 
which were made instruments of much tyranny. These were the 
Court of Star Chamber, the Court of High Commission, and the 
Council of the North, 1 all of them, for the purposes to which they 
were now put, of questionable legality. 

Those who were accused of resisting the royal will were brought 
before the Star Chamber. For instance, Doctor Alexander Leigh- 

1 The Court of Star Chamber was a court organized in 1487 for the trial of of- 
fenders, especially nobles and powerful men, and those who could not be reached 
so well through the ordinary tribunals. It was composed of members of the 
Privy Council (§ 219). 

The Court of High Commission was instituted by Mary in 1557 for the purpose 
of examining and punishing cases of heresy and schism. It was reorganized under 
Elizabeth (1559) and made a permanent tribunal in 1583. It was composed of 
prelates, Privy Councilors, and a few others. 

The Council of the North was originally established by Henry VIII after the 
Pilgrimage of Grace (§ 247) to keep the northern counties in order and ad- 
minister justice in the king's name. Wentworth, soon after he joined the king's 
party, had been appointed its president, and had reorganized it after the plan of 
the Star Chamber. It was composed of members of the Privy Council. 

Still another court was the Council of Wales, set up in 1536 by Henry VIII ; it 
was similar to the Council of the North. 

All these courts, however excellent they had been, had become the instruments 
of tyranny. They tried cases without a jury and often arbitrarily. They violated 
the first principles of justice, for the members of the courts were too often both 
accusers and judges. All were abolished by Parliament in 1641. 



3 o8 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



ton, a Scotch physician and minister resident in London, presented 
a petition to Parliament for the abolition of episcopacy, and after- 
wards expanded it into a book in which all the ills of the country 
were charged to the king and the bishops. For this he was brought 
before the Court of Star Chamber, and condemned to be flogged, 
and to have his nose slit, one ear cut off, and his face branded. 
William Prynne published a long and dreary, but severe, attack 
upon the stage, called Histriomastix, or the Scourge of Stage- 
players. In it he was specially severe on actresses. It happened 
that the queen had just taken part in some theatricals at the court, 
and it was held that he had not only attacked the king, who sup- 
ported the stage, but also the queen. For this offense he was 
expelled from the bar, deprived of his university degree, sentenced 
to lose his ears in the pillory, to pay a heavy fine, and to be 
imprisoned at the king's pleasure. This was in 1633-1634. In 
1637 Prynne with two others incurred the wrath of Archbishop 
Laud, by publishing, from their prison, books attacking the bishops. 
The offenders were brought before the Court of Star Chamber, and 
were heavily fined ; the ears of Prynne's companions were cut off, 
.his own were sheared more closely, and the three men were sent 
to distant separate prisons, and finally to the Channel Islands. 
On their way from the prison to the pillory they were greeted by 
thousands of sympathizers and hailed as martyrs. 

370. The Policy of "Thorough." — Laud and Wentworth 
became close friends and supported each other. Laud told Went- 
worth that he "was all for ' thorough,' 1 the system of complete dis- 
cipline on which his heart was set." Laud was the better able to 
carry out his principle of " thorough " because he was a member 
both of the Court of Star Chamber and of the Court of High 
Commission. In the course of three years he caused every parish 
in England to be visited and the practices of the clergymen in- 

1 This word " thorough " has been inseparably joined with the name of Went- 
worth, though Laud seems to have been the first to suggest it. In their use it meant 
" the prompt and resolute prosecution of any policy." 



LAUD AND WENTWORTH 



309 



quired into. If any deviation from the precise form of the Prayer 
Book was found, or if anything was not done in exact accord 
with directions, Laud was informed and unless the clergyman con- 
formed he was cited to appear before the Court of High Commis- 
sion, and was either suspended or deprived of his office. That 
there was in many places need of better order and decorum is 
quite likely, but Laud was doubtless not aware how much Puritanism 
had increased ; his requirements seemed to many like a return to 
Catholicism, and it was honestly believed in some quarters that it 
was Laud's idea to bring England back to Rome. 

371. "Book of Sports." 1633. — At Laud's advice Charles 
issued the Book of Sports. This was a declaration, originally 
drawn up in the 
reign of James I 



(161 8), stating 
that certain sports, 
such as bowls, 
leaping, wrestling, 
vaulting, etc., were 
lawful on Sundays. 
Had the procla- 
mation been made 
in the usual way, 
it would hardly 
have made much 




Boys' Sports 
From a book of 1659 



disturbance ; but every clergyman was ordered by Laud to read it 
from his pulpit after service on a Sunday. To many this seemed 
a direct violation of the law of God ; some refused to read, and 
others got around it in various ways. One clergyman, it is said, 
read the declaration and then the Ten Commandments, saying, 
" Dearly beloved, you have heard the commandment of God and 
of man ; obey which you please." 

372. Wentworth in Ireland. 1633-1639. — Meanwhile Went- 
worth had been appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland. He assumed 



310 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

charge of that island in 1633, and immediately put into vigorous 
practice his policy of " thorough." In his administration he 
showed his extraordinary power of organization and government. 
He ruled despotically, he required implicit obedience, and he was 
often unjust. "He moved straight to his object over all obstacles 
whatever, and if he found his path obstructed by disloyal and 
contumacious persons, he scrupled little as to the particular method 
whereby to brush them aside; " but after six years of rule he left 
Ireland more prosperous than she had ever been before. Trade 
had never been so profitable or so extensive, the linen industry had 
been introduced, the revenues of the island showed a surplus in- 
stead of a deficit, churches which had been in ruins had been re- 
built, well-considered laws had been enacted and were enforced, 
and the Irish Sea was cleared of the pirates who had long infested 
it. Besides this he had created an army, well drilled and effec- 
tive. But his rule was hateful to all classes in Ireland. 

373. Gustavus Adolphus; Thirty Years' War. 1630-1632. — 
On the Continent the Thirty Years' War (§ 351) was still devastat- 
ing Europe. The Protestants had at last found a leader in Gus- 
tavus Adolphus, the famous king of Sweden, and the tide seemed 
to be turning. The English people were deeply interested in the 
success of Gustavus, and would have gladly aided him, but with 
the exception of some Scotch and English volunteers, no aid was 
extended. Charles had no sympathy with the religious movement. 
At Liitzen (1632), the great Gustavus lost his life, and for sixteen 
or seventeen years longer the terribly devastating war dragged on. 

374. Ship Money. 1634. — ■ Various expedients were adopted by 
Charles to raise money without summoning Parliament. These 
were principally the revival and extension of old royal prerogatives, 
the best known of which was " ship money." In old times during 
war a king could call on the seaport towns for ships to defend the 
realm. This right Charles, at the suggestion of the attorney- 
general, Noy, determined to revive (1634). London responded 
with a certain number of vessels, but the other towns gave money. 



SHIP MONEY 



311 



This method was so successful that Charles resolved to extend it 
to inland towns (1635). These of course would furnish money, 
not ships. Charles spent the revenue thus secured upon a navy. 
A third writ of ship money was made in 1636. It was now clear 
that the king meant to impose a permanent and general tax. 
There was much grumbling, and, to make a test case, John Hamp- 
den, a wealthy country gentleman of Buckinghamshire, refused to pay 
the amount for which he was assessed. It was a matter of only 
twenty shillings, but with him resistance was a matter of principle. 1 

The case was tried (1638) before twelve judges, and seven of 
the twelve pronounced in favor of the king. The claim was made 
that " ship money " was not a tax, but money contributed for the 
defense of the realm instead of personal service. On the other 
hand, it was argued that it was a tax levied without consent of 
Parliament. The small majority by which the king's victory was 
obtained took from it much of its value, while the arguments of 
the lawyers and the opinions of the judges excited the deepest 
interest and were read far and wide. 2 The tax was felt by every 
one who had any property, and Hampden's case brought the 
whole question of royal power before the country as nothing else 
had done. Ship money continued to be collected, but it was paid 
with more and more reluctance. 

375. Enlargement of the Forests. — The king also obtained 
funds by extending the bounds of the royal forests, in connection 
with which fines were imposed. Originally very much of the 
land of the kingdom had lain within the domains of what were 
known as the royal forests, but for more than three hundred years 
these boundaries had been fixed in accordance with an arrange- 
ment made in the reign of Edward I (1272-1307). The king 

1 Lord Saye, one of the Puritan lords, also protested, but Hampden's was made 
the test case. 

2 Finch, the Chief Justice, in his opinion upheld the absolute power of the king. 
" Undoubtedly," said a contemporary, " my Lord Finch's speech made ship money 
much more abhorred and formidable than all the commandments by the Council 
table and all the distresses taken by the sheriffs of England." 



312 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



now set up a claim that this arrangement was invalid and seized 
large tracts. The occupiers of these lands were compelled to pay 
fines or lose their property. 1 

376. Scottish Opposition. — The first open revolt against arbi- 
trary royal power came from Scotland. Though England and 
Scotland had now the same king, they continued to have separate 
laws and separate Parliaments. Charles's first visit to Scotland 
after his accession had been in 1633 ; he had been enthusiasti- 
cally received and was crowned at Holyrood. But he very soon 
managed to arouse strong opposition. 

Neither Charles nor Laud could rest until a new Prayer Book 
was drawn up for Scotland. Though this was more Protestant than 
was the English book, it was still a church service book and was 
called the " mass in English " ; for Scotland, even among the 
ranks of the clergy, was overwhelmingly Puritan. 

377. The Scottish Liturgy; the Covenant. 1638. — The new 
Liturgy was read for the first time in St. Giles's church, Edinburgh. 
Hardly were the opening words uttered when a scene of great 
confusion took place. Women shouted their disapprobation, and 
it is said one woman threw a stool at the dean's head, narrowly 
missing the archbishop. The Council ordered the omission of 
both the old and the new services till the king's pleasure could be 
known. Charles refused to yield, but it was impossible to find a 
clergyman in Edinburgh who would use the book. 

Resistance to the royal command became almost universal, and 
thousands signed a national covenant, engaging to defend the 
reformed religion, and promising " to labor by all means lawful to 
recover the purity and liberty of the gospel, as it was established 
and professed before the innovations." 

An assembly of the church held at Glasgow declared that the 
king had no right to meddle with the religion of a nation, and 
went on to abolish episcopacy, canons, and liturgy. 

1 Seventeen villages were added to the Forest of Dean ; Rockingham Forest 
was enlarged from six miles to sixty, and Waltham Forest in similar fashion. 



TROUBLES IN SCOTLAND 



313 



378. Scottish Rebellion; Treaty of Berwick. 1639. — This 
was rebellion indeed. Charles's treasury was empty, he had no 
army, and little moral support. By forced loans and other means 
he collected enough money to raise 12,000 troops, but they were 
mutinous, ill-trained, and unsympathetic. On the other hand, the 
troops which the Scots gathered were well disciplined, ably led, and 
were full of enthusiasm for their cause. 

Charles, finding that his men would not fight, was compelled to 
negotiate with the Scots the verbal treaty of Berwick (June 2, 
1639). The substance of this agreement was that Charles prom- 
ised the Scots a General Assembly, a free Parliament, and an act 
of pardon and oblivion ; while the Scots, on their side, agreed to 
disband the troops, to do away with unlawful committees, and 
to restore the castles to the king's officers. The statements were 
vague and no provision was made for possible disagreements. 
The Scottish Assembly and Parliament (1639) insisted on the abo- 
lition of episcopacy, and on other matters almost equally distaste- 
ful to Charles. The bodies were adjourned and Charles again 
determined to try force. 

379. Strafford (Wentworth) ; "Short Parliament," 1640; 
Advance of the Scots. — Charles now chose for his chief adviser 
Wentworth, who was recalled from Ireland and created Earl of 
Strafford. Much as Strafford disliked and distrusted English Parlia- 
ments, he saw that the only chance for the success of Charles in 
Scotland lay in gaining the support of England, and this must come 
through Parliament. Charles unwillingly followed his advice, and 
in April, 1640, after an interval of eleven years, Parliament met. 
But under the leadership of Pym and Hampden, Parliament posi- 
tively refused to grant any supplies until grievances were redressed. 
Charles was not ready for this, and after three weeks the Parlia- 
ment, without passing a single act, was dissolved (May 5, 1640). 
From its brief session it is known as the " Short Parliament." 

The Scots invaded England (August, 1640). Again Charles 
managed to raise an army and sent it to the North, but it fell back 



3H 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



before the enemy, leaving an open path for the invaders. The 
Scots entered Yorkshire, and Charles was forced to treat with them. 
He promised to pay the expenses of their army until- a permanent 
treaty could be arranged, and as a pledge left Durham and 
Northumberland in their hands. He called a great council of the 
peers at York for advice, but they could only advise him to call 
another Parliament and to open fresh negotiations with the Scots. 

380. Beginning of the "Long Parliament." 1640. — As there 
was nothing else for him to do, Charles summoned a Parliament. 
From the length of its existence it is known as the " Long Parlia- 
ment. " 1 It consisted largely of country gentlemen, among whom 
were John Pym, John Hampden, Edward Hyde, and a man, almost 
unknown at the time, but destined to become the greatest of them 
all — Oliver Cromwell. 

It began its sessions November 3, 1640. Pym at once took a 
leading part. There can be little doubt that the Parliament voiced 
the popular feeling as few of its predecessors had done, and more- 
over had behind it the Scottish army, ready to march at any moment 
if Charles failed to keep his promise of paying its expenses. This 
payment, as no one knew better than Charles, was impossible unless 
Parliament voted supplies. The Parliament came together believ- 
ing that the whole body politic needed reformation. Three 
things were to be done at once : (1) the victims of Charles's arbi- 
trary government were to be set at liberty ; (2) the king's advisers 
and ministers were to be punished ; (3) the government of the 
realm was to be so modified as to prevent arbitrary rule in the future. 

In pursuance of the above determination, Prynne, Leighton, and 
others were released from prison ; Strafford was impeached on a 
charge of treason, and soon after Laud was imprisoned. 

381. Trial of Strafford. 1641. — The trial of Strafford is one 
of the most celebrated in English annals. He was at the head 
of the king's army in Yorkshire and in comparative safety. He 
was fully aware of the risk he ran in coming to London, but, 

1 Beginning November 3, 1640, it was not formally dissolved until March 16, 1660. 



THE LUXC PARLIAMENT 



315 



rsnn&t^Sg 



■JiJL— RTSl 



a-gaa 






nnx3 



V-:>, 








Execution of the Earl of Strafford 
After a contemporary print 



Charles having assured him that if he came " he should not suf- 
fer in his person, honor, or fortune," he made the journey. He 
was at once impeached by the Commons and sent to the Tower. 
Strafford's trial began before the Lords in the great West- 
minster Hall, March 22, 1641. After the trial had lasted more 
than three weeks the Commons, becoming assured that from lack 
of legal evidence he would not be convicted of treason, passed a 
bill of attainder, which required a simple majority vote, and sent 
it to the Lords. Had the Lords not heard rumors of a royal plot 
to liberate Strafford and intimidate Parliament by bringing the 
army from Yorkshire, it is possible that the bill would have been 
rejected. But convinced that the king's chief adviser was a dan- 
gerous man, they passed the bill by a small majority. The signa- 
ture of Charles was still required to make the bill effective. To 
his eternal discredit, Charles authorized a commission to give the 



3 l6 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

royal assent, 1 thus breaking his word of honor to Strafford. "Put 
not your trust in princes, nor in the sons of men, for in them 
there is no salvation," 2 Strafford exclaimed, when the news of 
Charles's action reached him. He was executed on May 12, 1641, 
" rather because men feared his ability than because his offenses 
were legally punishable with death." 3 

382. Legislation of the "Long Parliament." 1641. — The 
" Long Parliament " passed what is known as the Triennial Bill 
This required that every Parliament should sit not less than fifty 
days, and that a Parliament, whether summoned by the king or 
not, should meet at least once in three years. Charles was com- 
pelled by the condition of affairs to sign this bill. The Courts of 
Star Chamber and High Commission, the Councils of the North, of 
Wales, of Lancaster, and of Chester (§ 369), were abolished, and 
the districts formerly covered by them were placed under the 
common law. Ship money, compulsory knighthood, and the 
work of the forest commissions were done away with, tonnage and 
poundage was declared to be illegal, and various other reforms were 
made effective. Judges were hereafter to hold office during good 
behavior and be no longer removable at the king's pleasure. 

Thus far, the " Long Parliament " had acted, in the main, on 
the line of reformation rather than revolution. Even the treat- 
ment of Strafford, under the circumstances, might be condoned ; 

1 In an impeachment the Lords would be obliged to decide according to the 
law, and the evidence submitted; while in a bill of attainder they could act ac- 
cording to the spirit rather than the letter. In an impeachment the accused has 
the opportunity of making a defense, of which Strafford made good use; in a bill 
of attainder the accused is condemned unheard. There is little question that in 
the earlier days, at least, men were condemned by a bill of attainder, because it 
made the nation responsible, and the monarch could thus shift the responsibility to 
Parliament, or divide it with that body. The gross injustice of such bills made the 
framers of the Constitution of the United States insert the article forbidding them. 
(Article I, § 9.) They are now universally abolished. 

2 So given in Whitelock's Memorials ; compare Psalm 146: 3. 

3 The populace in London demanded Strafford's death, and a mob gathered 
around the palace of Whitehall, shouting for his execution. Charles claimed that 
the life of his queen and of his children were in danger, and this was his excuse 
for giving assent to the bill. 



THE LONG PARLIAMENT 



317 



but the Parliament did not stop with these things. Among other 
acts, a bill was passed forbidding the dissolution of Parliament ex- 
cept with its own consent. 1 This prevented a monarch from ap- 
pealing to the people by ordering a new election, and made it 
possible, as was afterwards abundantly shown, for Parliament to 
become as great a tyrant as the king had ever been. 2 

383. Ecclesiastical Measures ; Distrust of the King. 1641. — 
An act, known as the " Root and Branch Bill," which provided 

for the abolition of episcopacy, failed, for though many were 
willing that most of the innovations introduced by Laud should 
be done away with, they were not ready to abolish episcopacy. 

Charles visited Scotland, as there now seems no doubt, to try to 
persuade the Scots to support him in his endeavors to coerce the 
English Parliament. But Ireland suddenly claimed his attention. 
The native Irish had risen in rebellion against the English and 
Scottish settlers, and it was reported that terrible atrocities were 
taking place in that island. Could Charles be trusted with the 
command of an army? It was even rumored that the king and 
queen were in sympathy with the rebels. 

384. The Grand Remonstrance. 1641.- — ■ Parliament in justi- 
fication of its position drew up a paper known as " The Grand 
Remonstrance," in which the evil deeds of the king and his coun- 
selors were set forth at great length. 3 To this there was compara- 
tively little objection, but when it was proposed to name the rem- 
edies for these evils, a very decided difference of opinion was 
manifested. The debate on the document was long and passionate, 
and not until the early hours of the morning, by the small majority 
of eleven in a House of three hundred and seven members, was 

1 Charles with great reluctance signed the bill. 

2 In republics and constitutional monarchies this possibility is met by fixing the 
exact time for which legislative bodies are elected, or by limiting the period of their 
existence. In England by the Septennial Act (1716) no Parliament could sit for 
more than seven years, and by the Act of 1911 the limit has been reduced to five 
years. The average length of Parliaments has been about three or four years. 

3 It contained 206 clauses. 



3* 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



the bill passed. It was ordered to be presented to the king and 
to be printed for distribution. 

385. Attempted '• Arrest of the Five Members." 1642. — There 
was a decided reaction in favor of Charles ; and if he had possessed 
any wisdom, or if he had shown himself deserving of confidence, 
reformation rather than revolution would have been the outcome. 
But his words and conduct dissipated any hope of conciliation. 

He believed that he had proof that Pym and his friends, during 
the late troubles (1640), had invited the Scots to enter England 
under arms. If this were true, they were legally guilty of treason. 
He therefore ordered the Attorney-General to impeach them as 
traitors before the House of Lords. His right to do this was 
questionable. 1 Not content with this, the next day (January 4, 
1642), followed by about four hundred men, he went to the House 
of Commons, and demanded that the five members should be given 
up to him. 2 Intelligence of the king's purpose had reached the 
accused, and slipping out of the House, they were conveyed by way 
of the river to the city. 3 It was not a moment too soon, for, as 
they were entering the boat, the king passed into the House. 
He advanced to the Speaker's chair and told the House that he 
had come for the five traitors, but when he looked around he could 
not see them. After some words he turned to withdraw and was 
followed by cries of " Privilege," " Privilege." This attempt of 
Charles to intimidate the House with an armed force was a stu- 
pendous blunder; 4 it roused opposition to his cause as nothing 
else had done ; and it confirmed Parliament in the opinion that 
it was useless to treat with him. The inhabitants of the city of 
London, who had welcomed him joyfully a short time before, 

1 The right of impeachment rested, by custom, with the House of Commons. 
In the United States it rests with the House of Representatives. 

2 The accused were Lord Kimbolton of the House of Lords, and Pym, Holies, 
Hampden, Haslerig, and Strode of the Commons. 

3 The " city " was London proper, from Temple Bar eastward beyond the 
Tower. Parliament sat in Westminster, which was west of Temple Bar. 

4 The king's right to arrest any one personally was open to question, because as 
the king's person was sacred, there would be no remedy for a false arrest. 



CHARLES LEAVES LONDON 



319 



were now hopelessly alienated. The Commons voted that the 
king's entrance by force was a breach of " privilege," and that the 
attempted arrest of the five members was " false, scandalous, and 
illegal." Deeming Westminster unsafe, they adjourned to the city. 

386. The King leaves London. — On the 10th of January (1642), 
Charles, believing 
it to be a safer 
place, retired with 
the queen and his 
children to Hamp- 
ton Court. He 
did not see Lon- 
don again until he 
came as a prisoner 
to stand his trial 
and meet his death 
(1649). 

On the depar- 
ture of Charles, 
the Commons re- 
turned to West- 
minster in triumph. 
The king had placed himself distinctly in the wrong. During the 
first six months of 1642 efforts were made both by king and Parlia- 
ment to gain control of the military forces of the kingdom and to put 
themselves legally in the right. A bill for the exclusion of the 
bishops from the House of Lords was, by the advice of the queen, 
signed by the king, and this was the last important concession 
which he made. Soon afterwards, Henrietta Maria, the queen, 
fled from the kingdom with the crown jewels, intending to sell 
them and raise an army for Charles. 

Parliament was undoubtedly moved by the concessions made ; 
but various incidents, and especially a warrant of the king author- 
izing the Earl of Newcastle to take possession of Hull, one of the 




Temple Bar 
Taken down in 1878; reerected near Waltham 

Cross, 18SS. 



320 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

few strong fortresses of the kingdom, brought back all the old dis- 
trust of Charles. 1 

387. The Militia Bill, 1642 ; The Nineteen Propositions, 1642. 
— Parliament retaliated by passing the Militia Bill, by which the 
control of the army, militia, and all military stores and arms was 
given to Parliament. Charles refused to agree to give up what had 
always been the royal prerogative. On learning of his refusal both 
Houses made the bill an " Ordinance " - and determined to en- 
force it without the king's consent. 

In June, 1642, Parliament sent to the king at Oxford what are 
known as " The Nineteen Propositions." These were revolution- 
ary'in character, for by them all power, executive as well as legis- 
lative, would, for all intents and purposes, be placed in Parliament. 
It was impossible for Charles to assent to any such proposals, and 
it cannot be supposed that the majority of the nation would have 
approved of them at that time. 3 

References. — Green, Short History, chap, viii (§§ 1-6); Gardiner, 
Student's History, chaps, xxxi-xxxiii; Terry, History, Part III, Book III, 
chaps, i-iii (pp. 618-680); Tout, Advanced History, Book II, chaps, i-ii 
(§ 28) ; Gardiner, Puritan Revolution, chaps, i-vi" ; Traill, Social England, 
vol. IV, chap, xiii; Adams and Stephens, Select Documents (§§ 181-206); 
Cheyney, Readings, chaps, xiv-xv (§ 11); Colby, Selections (§§ 68-73); 
Kendall, Source-Book (§§ 69-79); Lee, Source-Book (§§ 148-159). 

x This seemed sufficient proof that he was intending to use force. 

2 The first ordinance of this kind had been passed in 1641, and from this time 
an ordinance was understood to mean " a declaration of the two Houses without 
the necessary concurrence of the king." 

3 Parliament at the present day does govern England executively as well as 
legislatively, but only through the cabinet, which is really a committee of 
Parliament. This, however, is a very different thing from direct executive action, 
which Parliament in June, 1642, proposed to establish, and actually attempted 
later. Besides this in 1642 Parliament strove to force its will on the nation, while 
now it professes to abide by the will of the people, and a new election of members 
must be held at least once in five years. 



CHAPTER XX 
THE PURITAN REVOLUTION AND THE COMMONWEALTH 

388. Civil War Begins. 1642. — Charles, having made York 
his headquarters, went to Hull, where war supplies were stored 
and demanded their surrender. Sir John Hotham, the Parlia- 
mentary commander in charge, refused to give them up or even 
to admit Charles within the walls. After causing his heralds to 
proclaim Hotham a traitor, Charles retired. Both he and Parlia- 
ment began to collect troops, and on August 22, 1642, Charles set 
up his standard at Nottingham. This is usually taken as the 
beginning of the Civil War. 

The contest was waged by minorities, for it can hardly be 
doubted that the majority of the English people were decidedly 
adverse to war. That it was waged at all is due to two facts : 
(1) that the influential men in the kingdom were divided between 
the two parties: (2) and to their conviction that only the sword 
could settle the problems before the country. On each side were 
ranged men of every class and position in the community, it being 
a common thing to find families divided, father against son, 
brother against brother, and friend against friend. 

As compared with wars preceding and following it, it was 
humane, and by the side of the Thirty Years' War on the Continent, 
which was contemporary, it was merciful. Though there was much 
plunder, and some destruction of property, there was no laying 
waste, and scarcely any ruthless treatment of the inhabitants. 1 

1 When the conflict was in Scotland, or in Ireland, or when Irishmen or even 
Irishwomen were found in the king's armies, exceptions must be made to the above 
statements. Both Scotland and Ireland were regarded as enemies, and against 
Ireland the Parliamentarians felt especially bitter, because it was believed that 
Charles, if successful, would restore the Catholic religion, in return for their aid. 

321 



32 2 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

The majority of the nobility were on the side of the king. On 
the side of Parliament were perhaps a third of the nobility, a large 
minority of the gentry, most of the middle class, many of the 
yeomen, and the commercial, manufacturing, and burgher classes. 
Parliament had control of the wealth of the country, and of almost 
all the large cities and seaports. It must be remembered that in 
those days the bulk of the population was in southern England. 1 
All the north and northwest of England was agricultural, with a 
comparatively scattered population. 

389. Conditions affecting the Conflict. — The total population 
of England was about four and a half millions, or not much more 
than half that of greater London at the present day ; and of this 
population three fourths were agricultural. The number of men 
usually engaged in a battle was small, and the cavalry formed a 
very important part of the armies, at times even one half. This 
was probably due in part to the relatively poor equipment of the 
seventeenth century foot soldier, and partly to the unfenced and 
unhedged character of the country, which allowed cavalry to be 
used to great advantage. 

Geographically, it may be said that the lands south of the 
Humber and east of the Severn were on the side of Parliament, 
and the others on the side of the king. A line drawn from Hull 
to Gloucester will nearly indicate the dividing line at the opening 
of the conflict. Of course, there were many exceptions, as, for 
instance, Oxford and the country immediately surrounding it and 
all Cornwall were for the king, while Plymouth and the south 
central part of Yorkshire were for Parliament. 

390. Religious Differences, etc. — The real division among the 
people was on account of religion more than anything else. It 
was Puritanism that attracted the upholders of Parliament ; and a 
fear of Puritanism, the love of episcopacy, and the genuine belief in 

l There were of course wealthy nobles and others on the side of the king, but 
the wealth of the nobility was largely in land and not so available as the property 
of the Parliamentarians. 



THE CIVIL WAR BEGINS 



323 




4 Longitude West 2 from Greenwich Longitude Ea 



3 2 4 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



the divine right of kings, that brought supporters to Charles. 1 The 
Catholics were royalists. They might possibly find a friend in the 
king ; from the Puritans they could look for nothing but persecution. 

The problems presented to a patriotic and thoughtful English- 
man in 1642 were difficult of solution, and none can be blamed 
for taking either side in the conflict. Good and patriotic men 
could be found on both sides. It was a war of civilians taking 
up arms, for the most part unwillingly, because it was thought to 
be absolutely necessary. The war produced but two men of 
unusual military skill : Prince Rupert among the royalists ; 2 and 
Oliver Cromwell, the Puritan, who proved himself one of the 
great commanders of history. 

391. "Cavaliers and Roundheads," 1642; Edgehill, 1642. 
— The war broke out in the summer of 1642. In money and 
general resources the Parliament had the decided advantage of 
the king, for London, then as now the great financial center of the 
kingdom, was strongly for Parliament. Besides this, Parliament 
controlled the usual methods of raising money and held the sea- 
ports ; the navy also was on its side. On the other hand, the 
king had the best officers and those accustomed to the army. 
Very soon the followers of Charles were called Cavaliers, and the 
Parliamentarians were nicknamed by their opponents Roundheads. 3 

Charles gave the command of his forces to the Earl of Lindsay, 
and the command of his cavalry to his nephew, Prince Rupert. The 
Earl of Essex 4 commanded the forces of Parliament. Charles's 

1 Cromwell said the war was undertaken for " the maintenance of our civil lib- 
erties as men, and our religious liberties as Christians." (1644.) 

2 Prince Rupert (§ 351 and note) was the son of Elizabeth, daughter of James I, 
and Frederick, the Elector-Palatine. He was only twenty-three when he came to 
his uncle's assistance, but had already in Germany, during the Thirty Years' War, 
seen much rough service. He seems to have been the strategist of the royal side, 
but not to have been able to carry out a campaign. " He was one of the most 
versatile men of his time, being an artist, philosopher, experimentalist, and inventor, 
as well as soldier and sailor." 

3 Cavaliers meant originally horsemen, then gentlemen; the cavaliers wore their 
hair long, while the Puritans wore theirs cut short, hence the nickname, roundhead. 

4 Essex was the son of Robert Devereux, Elizabeth's favorite (§ 329). 



"CAVALIERS AND ROUNDHEADS' 



325 



plan was to attack London, but he was overtaken by Essex, and 
the first battle of the war was fought at Edgehill, not far from Ban- 
bury (October 23, 1642). The immediate advantage was with 
the king. He marched to Oxford, and then toward London. He 
reached Brentford, only a few miles frofh the capital, but was 
afraid to encounter the London militia drawn up to meet him, 
and so retired to Oxford. Charles never again was so near actual 
success as at this time. 

392. Royalist Successes. 1643. — During the early part of 
1643 fortune favored the royalists, but each party had learned 
valuable lessons, — the royalists, that the men opposed to them 
were determined in their purpose ; and the Parliamentarians, that 
unless they could improve their cavalry it would go hard with them. 
No one was more convinced of this than Cromwell, and to him 
more than to any one else is due the formation of a body of cav- 
alry of which he himself said, " They had the fear of God before 
them, and made some conscience of what they did." 

During the year 1643 the Parliament lost ground; and was 
deprived of two of its ablest supporters, John Hampden, who was 
killed in a skirmish, and John Pym, who died of illness. Bristol 
was sacked in July by Prince Rupert, and Gloucester was besieged. 
This city was at the last extremity when Essex marched to its relief 
and raised the siege. The tide in favor of the king was stayed. 

393. Charles and the Irish ; Solemn League and Covenant. 
1643. — Both parties now sought foreign aid. Fortunately 
for England the Thirty Years' War (§§ 351, 373) was still 
engrossing the attention of the chief continental powers, and 
so England was spared the presence of foreign troops and their 
excesses. Charles turned to Ireland and made a treaty with the 
Irish, known as the Cessation of Arms, but it was of little real 
advantage to him. Parliament, on its part, made overtures to 
Scotland. Through the efforts of Pym an agreement known as 
the Solemn League and Covenant had been entered into. This 
bound the Parliament to endeavor to bring " the religion of 



326 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

England, Scotland, and Ireland to as much conformity as 
possible, and to reform religion according to the word of God, 
and the example of the best reformed churches." This meant 
Presbyterianism. To the Scots this matter was vital ; with them 
it was " no Presbyterianism, no Scottish army," and Parliament 
had to yield. There followed the pulling down of crosses, break- 
ing of stained glass windows in the churches and cathedrals, tear- 
ing down of crucifixes and altars, and defacing of memorial tablets 
and monuments. 

394. Laud executed, 1645; Marston Moor, 1644. — Late in 
1644 Archbishop Laud, who had been in prison since 1640 
(§ 380), was brought out for trial. Like Strafford, he was finally 
condemned by an act which really was an act of attainder though 
called an "ordinance." He was executed in January, 1645. 

After the signing of the Solemn League and Covenant, a Scottish 
army crossed the border and joined the Parliamentary forces. The 
armies met at Marston Moor near York (July 2, 1644). The 
royalists were led by Prince Rupert and Lord Byron ; the Parlia- 
mentarians by Fairfax, the Scots by the Earl of Leven, and the 
cavalry by Cromwell. Owing to the steadiness of the Scots, 
and above all to the discipline and enthusiasm of Cromwell's 
troops of horsemen, the royalists were routed. From this time 
Cromwell occupied a place in the front rank of the Parliamentary 
leaders. 

395. Self-denying Ordinance; the "New Model." 1645. — 
Notwithstanding the defeat at Marston Moor, Charles was able to 
gain some successes in the south. Cromwell saw that the army 
should be on a firmer basis, and through his efforts and those who 
sympathized with him, Parliament passed the Self-denying Ordi- 
nance (April 3, 1645). By this, members of either house of Parlia- 
ment were disqualified from holding positions in the army. But 
a special exception was made in the case of Cromwell. Indeed, 
he could not be spared in either position. Another bill was passed, 
by which a regular paid army was created, with a severe discipline 



PARLIAMENTARY VICTORIES 



3 2 7 



modeled after the example of Cromwell's soldiers. This army 
was known as the " New Model " and was one of the most 
remarkable bodies of troops the world has ever seen. 1 Higher 
praise could hardly be given than that awarded by the Cavalier 
historian Clarendon, who says, " An army whose order and dis- 
cipline, whose sobriety and manner, whose courage and success, 
made it famous and terrible all over the world." Under the new 
regulations Fairfax was made commander in chief and Cromwell 
lieutenant general. 

396. Naseby. 1645. — The new army met the king's forces at 
Naseby, near the center of England (June 14, 1645), an d 
after a severe battle routed the royalists. Charles fled, leaving 
his baggage, including his private correspondence, to be captured 
by the enemy. Perhaps worse for him than his defeat were the 
revelations made of his secret negotiations with the French, with the 
Duke of Lorraine, and with the Irish, to bring troops into England 
to support him, and also of his willingness to abolish the laws against 
the Catholics. 

One after another the royalist towns and fortresses fell into 
the hands of the Parliamentarians, the Scottish royal army was 
at length defeated, and by the middle of the year 1646 the war 
was practically ended. 

397. Charles turns to the Scots, 1646; Negotiations. — 
Charles concluded to throw himself on the mercy of the Scots, and 
in May, 1646, rode into their camp and gave himself up ; Doubt- 
less with the hope of playing off the Scots against the English. 

The Scots took Charles to Newcastle, and then followed a 
series of negotiations between Charles and Parliament, and be- 
tween the Scots and Parliament. The principal demands of 
Parliament were, that Charles should (1) abolish episcopacy and 
enforce the Covenant (§393); (2) give up to Parliament the 
control of the militia for twenty years ; (3) enforce the laws 
against the Catholics. Charles should have declined these prop- 

1 It is to the " New Model " that England owes her red-coat uniform. 



328 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

ositions at once ; but, as usual, he followed a policy of delay. 
Large arrears of pay were due the Scots, for which they were 
clamorous, and an arrangement was reached by which they agreed 
to return to Scotland on receipt from Parliament of a certain sum 
of money. This was given ; and in January, 1647, tne y departed 
for Scotland, leaving Charles in the hands of agents of the English 
Parliament. 

398. Presbyterians and Independents ; the Army. — There 
were now two determined parties in England — the Presbyterians 
and the Independents. The former had, as far as possible, made 
England Presbyterian, and their great object was to keep the 
control of the church in the hands of Parliament. The Inde- 
pendents, who were the successors of the Brownists (§325) of 
Elizabeth's reign, holding that each congregation should rule 
itself, naturally believed in toleration, something which was as 
hateful to the Presbyterians as it had been to Laud. The Inde- 
pendents had no objection to Presbyterianism as such, provided 
there was toleration, but the course of action that Parliament was 
taking alarmed them. 

The strength of the Independents lay in the army, a fact which 
the majority in Parliament did not sufficiently take into account. 
The war was at an end, but large arrears of pay were due the 
men, and Parliament attempted to disband the army before 
paying it off. This step united the army against Parliament. 
Cromwell, having in vain tried to bring matters to a satisfactory 
conclusion, took the side of the army, seeing that a mutiny which 
had already begun, if not arrested, would end in civil war or 
anarchy. He might be able to prevent either. Parliament had 
already opened secret negotiations with Charles, and also with the 
Scots. In the eyes of the Presbyterians to be under the army and 
independency would be even worse than to be under Charles. 

399. Seizure of Charles; the Army and Parliament. 1647. 
— Cromwell saw that the king was the key of the situation; 
without him neither Parliament nor the Scots could accomplish 



THE ARMY AND PARLIAMENT 



3 2 9 



much. Charles had been removed to Holmby House, near 
Northampton, under the charge of strict Presbyterians. In order 
to forestall any attempt of the latter to carry off Charles, Crom- 
well sent Cornet Joyce with a body of soldiers to secure the royal 
prisoner for the army. Joyce, however, deemed it best to remove 
Charles to a place of greater safety. When asked by Charles for 
his authority, Joyce pointed to his soldiers and said, " There is my 
commission." 

Cromwell joined the army, restored order, and marched toward 
London. Parliament, justly frightened, promised the army the 
payment of all arrears and the retraction of sundry offensive 
declarations. The army, conscious of its strength, would not be 
satisfied with this, but insisted on the exclusion from Parliament 
of eleven Presbyterian leaders, on religious toleration, short Par- 
liaments, the right of petition, and other changes in the direction 
of democratic government. Parliament tried to gain time by 
temporizing. The eleven leaders fled from London. The city 
was Presbyterian in its sympathies, and a mob broke into the 
building where Parliament was sitting. Upon this the army 
marched into the city and was master of the situation. 

400. "The Heads of Proposals." 1647. — Fairfax, Cromwell, 
and Ireton, the men at the head of the army, were none of them 
extremists ; they did not wish a military rule, and once more 
negotiations were opened with Charles, who was now at Hampton 
Court. The chief points of the " Heads of Proposals," as the 
propositions were called, were religious toleration, certain reforms 
in Parliament, control of the militia by Parliament for ten years, 
and the appointment of a great Council of State to rule in con- 
nection with the king. These were more liberal terms than 
Charles could expect. Convinced, however, that another war was 
imminent, and sure that one side or the other would turn to the 
royalists, he again pursued his old policy of double dealing by 
carrying on at the same time secret negotiations with the royalist 
party in Scotland. 



33° 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



The conciliatory policy of the leaders was very distasteful to a 
large body of extremists in the army known as Levellers, who 
boldly accused Cromwell and his companions of betraying the 
cause of the people, and demanded that Charles should be 
"brought to justice." Charles, aware of his danger, fled to 
Carisbrooke Castle in the Isle of Wight, where he was treated as 
a prisoner. 

401. Risings in Favor of Charles, 1647; "Second Civil 
War." — The double dealing of Charles convinced the Inde- 
pendent leaders that he was wholly untrustworthy. Meanwhile 
the Scots, who had entered into an agreement with him by what is 
known as the " Engagement," marched from Scotland ; many in 
England were weary of fighting, had no liking for a military rule, 
and felt that they would rather trust Charles than the army. 
There were risings in Wales, in Kent, in Essex, and other places. 
Thus began the Second Civil War 1 (May, 1648). 

Cromwell marched to the north and in a series of engagements 
completely defeated the Scots. The rising in Kent was soon put 
down by Fairfax ; refugees fled to Colchester, hoping for aid from 
the Scots. After a siege Colchester fell (August, 1648), and the 
citizens and defenders suffered terribly for their defense. Two of 
the leaders were shot, and the soldiers were sent to the West 
Indies, there to serve as unwilling laborers, while the property 
of the citizens was given to the besiegers. 

The whole country was at the mercy of the army, which was 
almost as angry with Parliament as with the king. 

402. Treaty of Newport; "Pride's Purge"; "The Rump." 
1648. — Meanwhile Parliament had been carrying on negotia- 
tions with the king, known as the Treaty of Newport. 2 Charles 
temporized as usual ; Parliament continued to treat with him ; 
but by the orders of the army Charles was taken to Hurst 

1 For the Second Civil War Cromwell held Charles responsible ; it was in his 
sight an unforgivable sin. 

2 So called from the town in the Isle of Wight where the negotiations were 
carried on. 



TRIAL OF CHARLES I 



331 



Castle. On December 5, 164S, a party of soldiers under the 
command of a Colonel Pride stood at the door of the House of 
Parliament and excluded all who were known to be unfriendly to the 
army or in favor of the king. This action is known as " Pride's 
Purge." One hundred and forty-three members were thus driven 
out. The remnant left was called in contempt the " Rump." 




.jZ& 






' f^ 1 



''*-. 



M 



mm. 



Carisbrooke Castle, Isle of Wight 

Tower erected by Anthony Woodville, in the time of Edward IV. Gateway erected 
by Elizabeth, 1598. 

403. Trial and Execution of Charles I. 1649. — The next step 
was to remove Charles. The remnant of the House of Commons 
was in accord with the army ; but the few peers would not join in 
bringing the king to trial, so the Commons, declaring that as 
representatives of the people they had all power, proceeded to 
create a high court of justice to try the king, " that man of 
blood." One hundred and thirty-five men were named as mem- 
bers of the court, but less than half of them were present when the 
trial began. 

Charles was charged with treason by bringing on civil war, and 
raising armies " against the Parliament and the kingdom." The 
trial began on January 21, 1649. The king denied the jurisdiction 
of the court, and refused to plead. The trial was a mockery ; 
Charles was convicted, and on the 27th his sentence was read. 



33? 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



The long document recites the several charges and concludes, 
" For all which treasons and crimes this Court doth adjudge that 
he, the said Charles Stuart, as a tyrant, traitor, murderer, and 
public enemy to the good of the people of this nation, shall be 
put to death by the severing of his head from his body." The 
sentence was carried out on January 30, 1649, in front of White- 
hall Palace, London. 

Charles bore himself with dignity and calmness during his trial 
and at the time of execution ; and this has cast a halo around his 
character which it does not deserve. That he richly merited 
punishment can hardly be questioned ; that he deserved death is 
quite another matter ; that he was illegally tried and condemned 
is scarcely open to debate ; that most, if not all, of the regicides, 
as they were called, were sincere and honest in their belief that 
his death was a necessity must be acknowledged ; that his trial 
and execution were blunders was abundantly proved by subsequent 
events ; that, in spite of its illegality, it was a terrible precedent to 
establish the fact that kings are responsible to their subjects must 
be granted. 

404. Effect of the Execution of Charles. — The news of the death 
of Charles was received by the vast majority of Englishmen with 
horror, the act " outraged beyond hope of reconciliation the two 
parties in the state who were strong in numbers and in conservative 
tradition, the Presbyterians and the Cavaliers ; and it alienated 
the great mass of men who had no party at all." Had it not been 
for hopeless differences, which not even this act could heal, it 
would have gone hard with the Independents. The royalists 
distrusted the Presbyterians, and the Presbyterians distrusted the 
royalists. The small party of the Levellers distrusted all others ; 
their program, " manhood suffrage, annual Parliaments, and 
religious liberty," which seems reasonable enough at this day, was 
unwelcome to all but themselves. 

In such a condition of affairs it was evident that if the leaders 
of the army did not assume the power, the result would be anarchy ; 



EFFECT OF THE EXECUTION 



33. 



and so we have the curious spectacle of a small body, professing to 
represent the people, entering upon a career of despotism upheld 
by force. Fortunately for England and English institutions the 
men who controlled affairs were honest, self-sacrificing, and, with 




Trial of King Charles I in Westminster Hall 

few exceptions, disinterested. During their official career there 
can be no question that the government was administered more 
economically and with a far greater regard to the public good than 
it had ever been under the Stuarts ; nevertheless it was a kind of 
rule justly hateful to the patriotic Englishman. 

405. The Commonwealth. 1649. — The death of the king 
was followed by the setting up of a republic. King and Lords 
were abolished, and the country, under the name of a Com- 
monwealth, was to be ruled by a House of Commons. As the 



334 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



members of the " Rump " did not dare to risk a new election, 
they assumed the position of the Commons and appointed a 
Council of State of forty-one men, which was to take place of the 
old Privy Council. A new judiciary was appointed, and the gov- 
ernment went into operation. 

406. Dangers confronting the Commonwealth. 1649. — The 
new republic was beset with dangers. First, from the royalists, 
who had been greatly moved by the king's death ; and then by the 
publication of a little book called Eikon Basilike, or the Royal 
Image, purporting to be an autobiography of Charles, written 
during his last days, with his prayers and meditations suggested by 
his approaching death. 1 This volume was widely read and exer- 
cised an enormous influence. John Milton tried to answer it with 
his Eikonoclastcs, or Image Breaker ; but with little avail, for 
while Milton's book appealed to the understanding, the other 
appealed to the heart. 

Perhaps a still greater danger arose from the dissatisfied 
Levellers, who clamored for a thoroughgoing democracy. Crom- 
well saw that mutiny in the army would be fatal to success, and 
the mutinies which occurred in several places were rigorously 
crushed. 

407. Charles II proclaimed in Ireland, 1649; Cromwell in 
Ireland. 1649. — As soon as the news of the death of Charles 
reached Ormond, the royalist leader in Ireland, he proclaimed 
Prince Charles as Charles II. The Presbyterians of Ulster (§ 346) 
went over to his side, and Prince Rupert with several ships held 
the south of the island. Affairs in Ireland looked desperate for 
the Commonwealth. The Council of State offered the command 
to Cromwell. He landed at Dublin in August, 1649, with a small 
army and began a course of conduct which, more than any other 
of his career, has laid him open to severe criticism. Everywhere 

1 This book was almost universally believed at the time to have been written by 
Charles I ; it has been proved since to have been the work of Dr. John Gauden, a 
clergyman, after the Restoration made Bishop of Worcester. 



CROMWELL IN IRELAND 



1 *> c 



the well-trained men of Cromwell's army were successful. Drogh- 
eda was taken a few weeks after his landing, and then Wexford. 
In each case the garrison had refused to surrender, the towns had 
been carried by assault, and each garrison, with the exception 
of a few men sent to the West Indies, had been slaughtered 
without mercy. 1 Cromwell justified this terrible severity, first by 
the laws of war, which allowed victors to put to death those who 
refused to surrender, and secondly, as a punishment for the 
"innocent blood which had been shed" in the rebellion of 1641 
(§ 383). Though successful in striking terror into the hearts of 
his opponents, these massacres remain a sad blot on the memory 
of Cromwell. 

408. Subjection of Ireland. 1652. — By the close of 1649 a ^ 
the coast of Ireland, except the single town of Waterford, was in 
Cromwell's hands. But a new danger menaced the Commonwealth 
from Scotland, and in May, 1650, Cromwell was recalled to 
England. He left his lieutenants to complete the conquest of 
Ireland. This was accomplished by the middle of 1652. It was 
subdued as it had never been before, but it " was devastated from 
end to end, and a third of its population had perished during the 
struggle." 

The Irish settlement after the conquest resembled Strafford's 
plan (§ 372). Cromwell's idea was confiscation of the land of 
Irish owners who had taken part in the rebellion ; 2 colonization 
by English Protestants ; conversion of the Irish Catholics ; and 
the impartial administration of justice. In religious matters the 
Irish were little better off than they had been, for while liberty of 
conscience was allowed, and no one was compelled to attend 
Protestant places of worship, the outward exercise of Catholicism 
was strictly forbidden, and under the Commonwealth and the 
Protector, " priests were hunted down, and either imprisoned or 

1 At Drogheda 2800 men were put to the sword, and at Wexford 1500, as well as 
every priest who fell into the hands of the victors. 

'-It is estimated that about two thirds of the land of Ireland passed to new 
owners. 



33& 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



exiled." With all his ability and greatness Cromwell was not able 
to see that such treatment would inevitably inspire a hatred of 
Protestants and of English rule. There can be little doubt that it 
was the treatment in regard to religious matters which aroused the 
lasting resentment far more than any political tyranny. 

409. Scotland. Dunbar. 1650. — The Presbyterians in Scotland 
had no sympathy - with the Independents, and on receipt of the 
news of Charles's death had proclaimed his son as Charles II, 
King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The Scottish envoys at 
London demanded that " upon just satisfaction given to both 
kingdoms " he should be given the crown. Parliament refused to 
entertain any such proposition and expelled the envoys from 
England. This was war. It was, however, necessary for Charles 
II and the Scots to come to some sort of an agreement. The 
Scots insisted that Charles should subscribe to the Covenant and 
force Presbyterianism upon England and Ireland. Against these 
conditions he strove for some time, but finally yielded. He came 
to Scotland and- was crowned at Scone, January, 165 1. 

Parliament had voted that both Cromwell and Fairfax should 
command the army against the Scots, but Fairfax refused to take 
the field against his old allies and resigned his position, and Crom- 
well became commander in chief. The army entered Scotland in 
July, 1650; the first few weeks were discouraging, but at Dunbar, 
September 3, 1650, Cromwell gained one of his greatest victories 
— " three thousand men fell in the battle and ten thousand were 
taken prisoners." Though this victory gave him the southern 
part of Scotland, the northern still held out for Charles. 

410. Defeat of Charles II at Worcester. 1651. — The disaster 
at Dunbar tended to unite the royalists and Presbyterians in 
Scotland and inspired a hope that a similar union might be 
brought about in England. So Charles's army, under David 
Leslie, hastened southward, Charles accompanying it. England, 
however, was so tired of war that few persons joined the royal 
standard. " Englishmen disliked the government much, but they 



CHARLES II DEFEATED AT WORCESTER 



337 



disliked the Scots more." Cromwell, with part of his army, 
hastened after Leslie and Charles, overtook them at Worcester, 
and compelled them to fight a much larger force than their own, 
September 3, 165 1, the anniversary of Dunbar. The result was a 
rout; only a remnant of the Scots was able to reach Scotland. 







Great Friar's Street, Worcester 
After an old print 

Charles, after many hairbreadth and romantic escapes, managed to 
reach France. 1 

411. Union of England and Scotland. — General Monk, who 
had been left in charge by Cromwell, reduced Scotland to submis- 
sion (1652), and like Ireland it was given a new form of govern- 
ment. The Scottish Parliament was abolished ; trade was made 
free between England and Scotland ; toleration for all Non- 
conformists except Catholics was established ; and the judicial 
system was reformed. Scotland was given thirty members of 
Parliament at Westminster, while the country was governed by a 
council of nine (after 1655), of whom two were Scots. Under 

1 " Though the Englishmen would not fight for Charles, they would not betray 
him, and of the scores he trusted not one proved false." 



32,8 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

their rule Scotland had such order and safety as had not been 
known before. 1 But with few exceptions the Scots hated the 
union with England. 

When the news of the victory at Worcester reached Parliament, 
it voted Cromwell a large income and gave him Hampton Court 
for a residence. 

412. Foreign Affairs ; Holland. — The government could now 
turn its attention to enemies abroad, where the Commonwealth 
was not regarded with favor. As almost all the continental gov- 
ernments were monarchical, the execution of Charles was to them 
a blow of deep significance. Besides this the courts of Europe 
were full of English royalist refugees. The ambassadors of the 
Commonwealth had been received with coolness at the various 
courts to which they had been sent, and two had been killed by 
royalists. 

It would seem that England and Holland, both being republics, 
should have been at least friendly ; but William II, the stadtholder, 
had married Mary, a daughter of Charles I, and so was friendly to 
the royalists. He, however, died in October, 1650; the office 
of stadtholder was abolished, and the United Netherlands became 
still more democratic. But the strong commercial rivalry growing 
up between the Dutch and the English kept the countries apart. 
By 1650 the Dutch controlled the carrying trade of Europe and 
had grown rich. They had the best ships and sailors in the 
world. Wherever the English ships went, — whether in the East 
or West Indies, in the Baltic or the North seas, and even in 
America, — they found the Dutch, and political and commercial 
disputes were constantly arising. 

413. Navigation Act, 1651; War with Holland, 1652-1654. 
— These disputes and the growth of the Dutch trade led to the 
passage by Parliament of the famous Navigation Act of October, 
165 1. By this act it was forbidden to bring into England any 

1 Scotland was treated much more leniently than Ireland. There was no general 
confiscation of the land, the penalty of forfeiture being imposed on only a few. 



FOREIGN AFFAIRS 339 

goods from any ports in Asia, Africa, or America, except in vessels 
built in England, owned by Englishmen, and manned by English 
sailors. A similar regulation was made for goods exported from 
England. From any European country goods could be carried 
only in vessels owned in that country, or in English vessels. As 
an enforcement of the Navigation Act would deprive the Dutch 
of all the profitable carrying trade to England except in the few 
articles of Dutch manufacture, they protested, but without avail. 

Besides this England claimed that the sovereignty of the seas 
surrounding Britain belonged to her, and that homage should be 
given her for these ; she claimed certain fishing rights in the 
North Sea ; also the right to seize goods of an enemy even if 
found on a neutral ship. All these claims the Dutch denied, and, 
as an agreement could not be reached, war broke out between the 
English and the Dutch (1652). The war was wholly a naval one. 
The Dutch had many merchantmen ; and the English had a larger 
navy. The Dutch had, however, the first naval captain of his day 
in Van Tromp. The English found a great captain in Robert 
Blake. 1 Good soldiers at that time were supposed to be good at 
sea also, and Blake, who had distinguished himself in the Civil 
War, had in 1649 been appointed Admiral and General at Sea. 
He had sailed against Prince Rupert, and had done good service in 
the Mediterranean and elsewhere, and was now chosen to meet 
Van Tromp. Many sea fights took place with varying fortunes 
until early in 1653, when Blake and his companion, Monk, 
another soldier turned sailor, defeated Van Tromp off Portland 
Bill. Blake won another victory in June, 1653, and in July Monk 
defeated the Dutch off the Texel, and Van Tromp was killed. 
The next year (1654) peace was made, the Dutch agreeing to the 
Navigation Act and some other of the English demands. The 
result of the war was to remove any danger of interference in the 

1 Blake, born in 1599, was fifty when he took his first naval command. How 
much training he had is not known. It is possible that as a young man he may 
have made some voyages, though there is no reason to suppose it was as a sailor 
(§ 424). 



; 4 o 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



domestic affairs of England by foreign powers, and greatly to 
increase the respect paid to the Commonwealth. 

414. Expulsion of "The Rump." 1653. — Meanwhile the 
"Rump" (§ 402) had become more and more unpopular. 
Funds had been raised by compelling royalists to pay large sums 
of money in order to retain their estates. More than this, all 
measures of reform were stopped, a course which greatly angered 
the army. The " Rump," regardless of the remonstrances of the 
army, proceeded to form a plan of government ingeniously con- 
trived to retain the power in the hands of the " Rump " itself. 

When Cromwell learned that Parliament was about to pass an 
act with this end in view, he went to the House (April 20, 1653) 
" dressed as he was, not like a general or a soldier, but like an 
ordinary citizen, ' clad in plain black clothes with grey worsted 
stockings,' and sat as he used to do in an ordinary place." When 
the speaker was about to put the question, Cromwell rose and 
spoke, strongly rebuking the members for their selfish conduct, 
and ended by saying, " You are no Parliament ; I say you are 
no Parliament. I will put an end to your sitting." "Call them 
in," he said to one of his friends who sat near him ; and presently 
twenty or thirty of Cromwell's own regiment came in and drove 
out the members. Cromwell ordered the door to be locked, and 
then went off. Henceforth force was to rule. Evil as force was, 
it was at least something real and not a pretense. 

It was a bloodless revolution. " There were no resignations, no 
arrests, and no further force. The fighting men approved, the 
officials obeyed, and the nation acquiesced." 

415. The "Barebones Parliament." 1653. — Cromwell, not 
fond of force, wished to set up a government with at least some 
show of being representative. But not daring to order a new 
election, he and his fellow army officers summoned an assembly, 
nominated by themselves, consisting of one hundred and forty 
men from different parts of England, and a few from Scotland and 
Ireland. This body was called in ridicule " Praise God Bare- 



THE "BAREBONES PARLIAMENT" 



341 



bones a Parliament " after a man of that name who represented in 
it the City of London. Another name by which it is known is the 
" Little Parliament," but strictly speaking, it was no Parliament at 
all. As might be expected, it was one of the most unmanageable 
and impracticable sets of men ever gathered in an assembly. The 




Cromwell dissolving the Long Parliament 

more moderate men in the assembly shrank from the wilder acts 
and plans of their fellow-members, and by a trick, passed a bill 
dissolving the body and resigning its power into the hands of 
Cromwell (December 12, 1653). 

416. "The Instrument of Government," 1653; Cromwell 
"Protector." — The officers of the army now tried their hand and 

1 His name is given as Barbon, Barebone, and Barebones. He was a leather 
seller. He survived all the dangers of the Civil War and Restoration, and died in 
1679. 



342 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



proposed "The Instrument of Government." By this it was pro- 
vided that the government of the Commonwealth of England, 
Scotland, and Ireland should be vested in one person styled the 
Lord Protector, appointed for life, and in a Parliament which should 
meet once in three years. The power of the Protector was limited 
by a Council of State. The scheme was really a limited monarchy 
restricted by a written constitution. 1 Though distasteful to the 
extremists, it was acceptable to the army and to most persons. 
Before the Parliament should meet the Protector was authorized 
to pass "ordinances." Of this permission Cromwell, who was of 
course appointed Protector, took liberal advantage, and for the 
most part his laws were wise and all in the direction of improving 
the morals and order of the Commonwealth. 

417. Oliver Cromwell. 1599-1658. — However opinions may 
differ concerning Cromwell's personal aims and conduct, in the 
long list of great Englishmen he must always stand in the front 
rank. He was born in 1599 of a good family in Huntingdonshire. 2 
He attended the Huntingdon Grammar School and at seventeen 
went to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. How long he re- 
mained at the university is not known, but he was married at the 
age of twenty-one and soon after set up as a country gentleman. 
In 1628 he was elected to represent Huntingdon in the third 
Parliament (§ 361) of Charles I. He early took the side of the 
people in his own neighborhood and became popular and 
influential in the eastern counties. Before he was thirty he was 
"a professor of religion" and was known as a zealous Puritan. 
He was a member of the Short Parliament (§ 379) and also of 
the Long Parliament (§ 380). In person he was slightly under 
six feet, strong and well made ; his light brown hair he wore 

1 The title was taken from that of the Protector Somerset in the time of Edward 
VI (see § 263). Cromwell was more nearly a regent than anything else. The 
office was not to be hereditary. 

2 He was descended from the sister of Thomas Cromwell (§ 236), the great min- 
ister of Henry VIII. Her son Henry took the name of Cromwell. From Henry 
Cromwell, also, John Hampden was descended. 



OLIVER CROMWELL 



343 



long, allowing it to reach to his shoulders ; his eyes were blue or 
gray, and his eyebrows heavy ; his nose was large, and likewise his 
mouth, which was firm-set. He was dignified in his bearing, and 
often affable. In his youth he was athletic and he retained his 
love of sport all his life ; he was fond of riding, hunting, hawking, 
playing bowls, and other 
exercises. He was de- 
voted to music and when 
at Hampton Court had 
two organs, which were 
frequently brought into 
use. He valued art and 
learning and encouraged 
them. 

His greatest personal 
characteristic was his reli- 
gious faith. His sense 
of personal responsibility 
was profound, and in all 
his actions he moved, as 
he believed, under divine 

guidance. Not to recognize this fact is to misunderstand his life. 
The former country squire, who had known comparatively little of 
active public life until he was more than forty, was now at the age 
of fifty-four the ruler of England. He had a keen sense of his 
duties and responsibilities, and, though a firm believer in law, in a 
constitutional government, and in the rights of the people, it was 
his misfortune to feel compelled to wield absolute power. 

418. England in 1654. — There can be scarcely a doubt that 
some such rule as that of Cromwell was needed in England in 
1654. " He had with him the Puritan rank and file, and the 
great majority of the superior officers, . . . the men of business ; 
all moderate men of every party who desired peace, order and 
good government ; the great cities, the army and navy." 




Oliver Cromwell 



344 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

His opposers were not only the Cavaliers, for against him he had 
the Republicans, to whom the revolution meant republican equality 
more than liberty, and legal right even more than order and pros- 
perity. Besides these were the " Sectaries," men of every shade 
of religious belief and fanaticism, who sprang up as the result of 
the religious conflicts of the time. 

The weakness of the Instrument (§ 416) was that it provided no 
means, such as the American Supreme Court, for deciding doubt- 
ful points, nor was there any provision for amendment. 

419. First Protectorate Parliament. 1654. — The first Protec- 
torate Parliament met in September, 1654. Cromwell was bitterly 
disappointed with its action. Its first work was to call in question 
the authority by which the Instrument of Government had been 
drawn up, and then it proceeded to evolve a scheme of its own, in 
which the greater part of the power would be in the hands of 
Parliament. 

This was something which Cromwell would not endure, for he 
was determined that, if he could prevent it, there should not be 
the rule of an irresponsible Parliament. Parliament, on its part, 
was equally determined that there should not be military rule and 
a despotism. Cromwell was in a grave dilemma, and chose what 
seemed to him the lesser evil. As soon as five months had 
elapsed he dissolved the Parliament and entered upon autocratic 
rule, though, so far as possible, governing according to the Instru- 
ment of Government. 

420. The Major Generals; Military Rule. 1655. — Plots 
against his life became frequent, Ireland and Scotland were restive, 
and there were risings of Cavaliers, and also of Levellers. Crom- 
well now divided the country into ten military districts, over each 
one of which he set a major general with practically arbitrary 
powers. This was pure military rule, which only the unsettled 
state of affairs could possibly justify. To maintain these officers 
and their men he taxed the Cavaliers, on the ground that it was 
due to them that the necessity existed. This policy, while it cer- 



FIRST PROTECTORATE PARLIAMENT 



545 



tainly insured good order and personal safety, angered the 
royalists beyond remedy, and also forced upon the whole country 
the fact that his government was a military despotism. Men now 
began to refuse to pay some of the taxes imposed, on the ground 
that they were not levied by Parliament. 

421. Cromwell's Religious Policy. — Cromwell's treatment of 
the religious difficulties in the country is greatly to his credit. 
Under his rule there was greater tolerance and religious liberty 
than had ever been known in England. The chief exceptions 
were " Papists " and " Prelatists," as the Puritans called them, and 
these were excepted chiefly on political grounds, for they were in- 
evitably hostile to the government. But even the " Prelatists " or 
Episcopalians were treated with leniency, and congregations meet- 
ing in private were not molested. The Catholics also, though 
not allowed to celebrate their worship publicly, were not in other 
respects disturbed, and fared better than they had at the hands of 
the Parliaments of Charles I or the Commonwealth. The Jews, 
too, who had been proscribed since the time of Edward I (1290) 
(§ 127), while not legally tolerated, were allowed to reside in 
England and worship in private houses. 

The result of Cromwell's policy was the rise of many sects, for 
it was a period of religious and intellectual stirring among the 
English common people. Under no other regime for fifty years 
before or after would such a result have been possible. That 
this toleration temporarily fell with the Protectorate is due to the 
fact that the toleration was only partial, for political rights were 
confined to Puritans and those who in essentials agreed with them. 
The non-religious people were alienated by the severe rule of the 
major generals, the restrictions upon amusements, arbitrary ar- 
rests, imprisonments, deprivation of political rights, and other fea- 
tures of despotic rule ; while the smaller but more influential class 
of landholders was even more alienated by what they had to 
undergo. The result was that Puritanism began to mean to a 
large and increasing class almost everything hateful. It was poetic 



346 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

justice that when the Puritans fell, their successors should treat 
them to a dose of their own medicine. 

422. Cromwell's Foreign Policy. — Meanwhile Cromwell's 
foreign policy prospered. He had a very clear conception of what 
he wanted : (1) to prevent the restoration of the Stuarts by foreign 
aid ; (2) to form a league of all the Protestant nations in Europe ; 
(3) to foster and increase English commerce so that it would 
become supreme. The military and naval success of the Common- 
wealth prevented the likelihood of interference with the domestic 
concerns of England. But to unite the nations on a religious 
basis alone he found was impracticable. 

At the Peace of Westphalia (1648) France, under Louis XIV, 
was the strongest power in Europe. Her supremacy was disputed 
only by Spain. After the peace with the Dutch (1654) (§ 413) 
Spain and France alike were desirous of an alliance with England. 
Cromwell wavered for a time. From Spain he asked among other 
things toleration for English merchants in Spanish ports and free- 
dom of trade for English traders in the West Indies. These privi- 
leges Spain declined to grant. Cromwell turned to France, for in 
that day it was not thought advisable, perhaps not possible, to 
remain neutral. 

423. The Vaudois. 1656. — Meanwhile the Duke of Savoy 
was striving by force of arms and persecutions to compel the 
inhabitants of the Vaudois valleys, whose religion long antedated 
the Reformation, to become Catholics. In this effort terrible 
outrages had been committed, the news of which deeply stirred 
the Protestants of England. Cromwell informed Cardinal Mazarin, 
the French Minister of State, that until this persecution was 
stopped no treaty would be concluded with France. Mazarin 
was so anxious for the English alliance that he compelled the 
Duke of Savoy to end the persecution and grant the Vaudois 
liberty of worship. 

424. Naval Victories ; Penn and Venables ; Blake. 1654-1658. 
— In the meantime Cromwell had sent an expedition under Admiral 



CROMWELL'S TOREK IN AND COLONIAL POLICY 347 



Sir William Perm 1 and Robert Venables, a successful soldier, 
to the West Indies (1654) to seize the island of Hispaniola, and 
to injure the Spanish interests in the West Indies as much as 
possible. The attack on Hispaniola was a failure, but Jamaica 
was captured and has since remained a part of the British Empire. 
An expedition to the Mediterranean under 
Admiral Blake (§413) was a brilliant success. 

A treaty with France was signed (1655) 
and war with Spain broke out in earnest. 
Blake captured a Spanish fleet with a large 
amount of treasure on board, and also de- 
stroyed a large Spanish fleet off Teneriffe, 
but died at sea on the way home. The 
same year English troops joined the French 
forces and later gained a victory over the 
Spaniards (June 4, 1658) near Dunkirk, 
which fell into the hands of the allies and 
was given to England. 

425. Cromwell's Colonial Policy. — 
Cromwell was appointed one of the 

commissioners of plantations early in his political career, and so 
was brought very soon into comparatively close touch with 
colonial affairs. At one time he seems to have thought about 
emigrating himself. His colonial policy was successful, and his 
influence was enduring. He desired an ever-increasing empire 
bound to the mother country by strong ties and yet with a reason- 
able freedom of its own. It was in fact a plan closely resembling 
the present policy of Great Britain. 

With the New England colonies settled by Puritans and Inde- 
pendents he was in close sympathy, and throughout his rule he 
cultivated their friendship. During the time of the Civil War the 
northern colonies in America were adherents of the Puritans, and 




Flag of the Common- 
wealth 



1 Admiral Pen n was the father of the still more celebrated William Pen n, the 
founder of Pennsylvania. 



348 HISTORY OK ENGLAND 

the southern followers of the king, and at its close many Cavalier 
refugees fled to Virginia and the West Indies. On the death of 
Charles I, Governor Berkeley of Virginia proclaimed Charles II, 
and in Barbados there was practically rebellion against the Com- 
monwealth. But the government in England sent an expedition 
to compel the allegiance of the refractory provinces. 

426. Colonization Schemes. — The passage of the Navigation 
Act (1651) (§ 413) was a severe blow to colonial commerce and 
was unpopular everywhere, but nevertheless at the time it tended 
to increase the authority of the mother country, and though Crom- 
well would not give up the act, certain small concessions were 
made to the colonies. So far as their internal affairs were con- 
cerned Cromwell interfered very little if at all. 

The expedition of Penn and Venables (§ 424) was part of the 
same colonial plan, and though Cromwell was chagrined at the 
apparent failure of that scheme and both Penn and Venables were 
sent for a short time to the Tower, the expedition laid the founda- 
tion of England's influence in the West Indies which has never 
been lost. Though Jamaica was held of small account, Cromwell 
made great efforts to colonize it with Englishmen, and offered 
great inducements to New Englanders to remove there. He him- 
self said that " an opportunity is offered for their enlargement and 
removing them out of a barren country into a land of plenty." 
But the sturdy New Englanders preferred their "barren country" 
to an unknown tropical island and a climate which they dreaded. 

427. The Second Protectorate; Parliament, 1656; Humble 
Petition and Advice, 1657. — The continental policy required 
money, and Cromwell, not only because he wished more money, 
but also from his inherent love of constitutional methods, felt 
it needful to call a second Parliament (1656), but, as before, no 
one was allowed to be seated who was not supposed to be in 
general sympathy with the government. This body was accom- 
modating. Cromwell withdrew his major generals (§ 420), and 
the House voted him money. A plot against Cromwell was discov- 



DEATH OK CROMWELL 



349 



ered, and Parliament, weary of the constant troubles, thought that 
a nearer return to the old constitution would be helpful. A new 
scheme of government was devised, called the "Humble Petition 
and Advice," which provided for two houses of Parliament, a re- 
vision of the powers of the chief executive, and greater liberality in 
the matter of religion. Cromwell was asked to take the title of king, 
with the power of naming his successor. The army was opposed to 
the name of king, or it is likely that Cromwell would have assumed it. 
He kept the title of Lord Protector, but was king except in name. 

428. Parliament dissolved, 1658; Death of Cromwell, 1658.— 
In accordance with the new constitution he appointed a new House 
of Lords, and the new government went into operation. It was 
not a success ; the two Houses quarreled with each other, the mem- 
bers excluded by Cromwell were seated, and there was a majority 
hostile to him. At last (February 4, 1658) Cromwell, grievously 
disappointed, dissolved the Parliament with sad and bitter words. 

Cromwell was now beginning to break down both in health and 
spirits. In August he became ill and on September 3, 1658, the 
anniversary of his great victories of Dunbar (§ 409) and Worcester 
(§ 410), he died. His body, after lying in state, was privately 
buried in the Chapel of Henry VII in Westminster Abbey. He 
was given a magnificent public funeral. 

For many years after Cromwell's death he was regarded by 
many almost with detestation, but opinion has changed in a 
remarkable degree. Though his shortcomings are recognized, his 
great ability is universally admitted, and it is acknowledged by 
most persons that " it was his design to do good in the main." 
Cromwell's error, it would seem, was the attempt to govern Eng- 
land as the representative of a minority. He held his position 
only because of his ability. It was inevitable that such a course 
should end in despotism. 1 

1 This change in opinion was chiefly due to Carlyle's Life and Letters of Oliver 
Cromwell (1845). O ne evidence of the change is the erection of a fine statue to 
his memory under the very shadow of the Houses ot Parliament (1899). 



350 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

429. Richard Cromwell ; Protector, 1659 ; Resigned, 1659. — 
After Cromwell's death his son Richard was promptly proclaimed. 
The strength of the Protector's rule was shown by the apparently 
willing acquiescence by almost all parties in Richard's succession. 
A new Parliament was summoned, chosen on the old basis of the 
Long Parliament (§ 380). The members were disposed to make 
friends with Richard because he was not a soldier, for the one 
thing the Commons feared, and justly, was the army. 

The situation would have been difficult even for a man of Oliver 
Cromwell's ability, and for his son it was impossible. The army 
made the first move. It demanded that the command should be 
given to Fleetwood, 1 with powers independent of the Protector. 
Richard could not afford to accept such terms, but consented to 
dissolve Parliament and allow the long Long Parliament to be 
recalled. In this the Republicans were supreme. The power in 
the state was claimed both by Parliament and the army, there was 
no room for a Protector, and Richard, practically coerced, 
resigned his position (May 25, 1659), leaving the army and Par- 
liament to fight it out between themselves. 2 

430. The Army ; "The Rump " ; Monk, 1659-1660. — It was to 
be expected that the army and the " Rump " (§ 402) should quarrel. 
Lambert, who was now at the head of the army, followed the ex- 
ample of Cromwell and turned out the "Rump." But the army 
leaders found that it was no easy task to run a government, and 
in a few weeks recalled the remnant of the Long Parliament. 
There was, however, a man who had not yet come upon the scene, 
General Monk, who had been in charge of Scotland. 

He saw that unless something were done anarchy would come 
upon the country. He therefore crossed the border and entered 
England (January 1, 1660), was joined at Newcastle by Fairfax of 

1 Fleetwood was the brother-in-law of Richard; and Desborough, another of 
the army leaders, was his uncle. His foes were truly of his own household. 

2 On the Restoration (1660), Richard Cromwell retired to Paris, and lived there 
under an assumed name for about twenty years. He then returned to England 
and spent the rest of his long life in retirement. He died in 1712. 



PARLIAMENT INVITES CHARLES II 35 I 

Civil War fame (§ 394), and together they marched upon London. 
No one knew what course Monk would take. He found that the 
" Rump " was hated by all parties, and so declared himself in 
favor of a free Parliament. He demanded the restoration of all 
members who had been expelled from the Long Parliament by 
Pride's Purge (§ 402), and having an army at his back, he was 
obeyed. This Parliament provided for the election of a new 
Parliament called the " Convention Parliament," 1 appointed 
Monk general of the army, and voted its own dissolution (March 
16, 1660). Monk recognized that the restoration of the old 
monarchy and Charles II as king was the nation's wish, and saw 
to it that the elections were free. Monk's character has been the 
subject of much deserved criticism, but he rendered an incalcu- 
lable service to England in bringing about the Restoration in a 
peaceable and orderly manner. 

431. Declaration of Breda. 1660. — Meantime communications 
were held with Charles, and to make his restoration easier he issued 
his Declaration of Breda (April 4, 1660). 2 

Charles in this document offered a general pardon to all 
except those specially exempted by Parliament, and to consent to 
a bill for " liberty to tender consciences, and that no man shall be 
disquieted or called in question for differences of opinion in mat- 
ters of religion which do not disturb the peace of the kingdom." 
The document was drawn so as to throw the whole responsibility 
upon a Parliament which would be likely to be favorable to his 
interests. 

432. Convention Parliament invites Charles ; His Arrival. 1660. 
— The Convention Parliament met April 25, 1660. The Decla- 
ration of Breda was welcomed with joy, and Parliament voted that, 
"according to the ancient and fundamental laws of this kingdom, the 
Government is and ought to be, by King, Lords, and Commons." 

1 So called because, though conforming in other respects to the old laws, it was 
summoned without royal writs. 

2 So called from the town in the Netherlands where it was issued. 



35 2 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



On the 25th of May, 1660, Charles landed at Dover, and was 
greeted with cheers. His entrance into London on his birthday, 
four days later, was a time of still greater rejoicing. There can be 
little doubt that underlying all motives for this rejoicing was the 
very real fear of anarchy and civil war. The restoration was the 
one measure upon which the nation as a whole could agree. 

433. Results of the Puritan Revolution. — Though the old 
order appeared to be restored, it was not so in fact, for much of 
the influence and some of the salutary legislation of the Long 
Parliament were too deeply rooted to be overthrown. The revolu- 
tion had arrested the growth of an absolute monarchy, and roused 
a lasting feeling of dislike to absolute power, whether wielded by 
King, Parliament, Protector, or army. It was never afterwards 
possible to have a court of Star Chamber, or Council of the North, 
or to lay taxes by royal prerogative ; and public officers could no 
longer be shielded from the action of Parliament ; and, though it 
was many years before real toleration and religious freedom came 
about, it was from the Commonwealth and the Protectorate that 
their advocates gained their inspiration. Besides all this, and by 
no means of least importance, the English acquired a wholesome 
dread of civil war and military rule. 

References. — Green, Short History, chap, viii, §§ 8-10; Gardiner, 
Student's History, chaps, xxxiv-xxxvi; Terry, Part III, Book III, chaps, iv-v; 
Tout, Advanced History, Book VI, chap, ii, §§ 30-47, chap, iii; Gardiner, 
Puritan Revolution, chaps, vii-x, § i; Traill, Social England, vol. IV, 
chap, xiv; Adams and Stephens, Select Documents, §§ 207-221 ; Cheyney, 
Readings, chap, xv, §§ iii-v; Colby, Selections, §§ 73-76; Kendall, Source- 
Book, §§ 79-89; Lee, Source-Book, §§ 160-174. 



CHAPTER XXI 
THE RESTORATION, AND THE REVOLUTION OF 1688 

434. Charles II. 1660. — The restoration of Charles was a 
compromise, for the Declaration of Breda recognized the power of 
the people in a way and to a degree that Charles I never would 
have done. The position of the king, was a difficult one: he 
brought back with him not a few Cavaliers whose claims must be 
recognized, and many of the royalists, whose estates had been con- 
fiscated under the Commonwealth, were clamorous for their return 
or for indemnities ; while, on the other hand, those who had profited 
by the confiscations were by no means ready to give up their lands. 
The army was safely disposed of by paying it off, after which all 
the soldiers except about 5000 were disbanded. 

Charles II was a much abler man than his father, and if his 
moral character had been even fairly good, and if he had been 
less selfish, he might have been an excellent ruler. But he was 
unscrupulous, supremely selfish, and doubtless the most immoral 
sovereign that ever sat upon the English throne. His court was 
a disgrace to the nation. He was not, however, without some 
good points, for he wished to see England powerful abroad, and to 
develop her colonial and commercial policy. He was naturally 
tolerant, and one of the early acts of his new power was to order 
the persecutions of the Quakers in New England to cease. Indeed, 
all through his reign, he was favorable to toleration, but his laziness 
and selfishness were always most prominent, and when his own 
personal gratification was in question other things were deemed of 
slight account. He had one quality which his father utterly lacked, 
and that was an instinctive perception of how far he could go, and 
for this reason the opposition to him never went as far as rebellion. 

353 



354 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

It is said that he had made up his mind on one point — that he 
"would never go upon his travels again." 

435. Treatment of the King's Enemies. — On the whole it 
cannot be said that those who had fought against Charles I and 
Charles II were harshly treated. An act of general indemnity 
and pardon was passed, excepting only the regicides — as those 
who had sat in judgment on the king were styled — and a very few 
others. 1 In all, thirteen were put to death, and others imprisoned 
or exiled. One of the acts which might be termed despicable was 
the exhuming of the bodies of Cromwell and others of the Parlia- 
mentary leaders. The bodies were dragged through the streets 
on a sledge, then hung on the gallows at Tyburn for a day, after 
which they were cut down and decapitated, and the heads of 
Cromwell, Ireton, and Bradshaw were set up on the top of West- 
minster Hall. The bodies were buried at the foot of the gallows. 2 

The Convention Parliament, besides passing the Indemnity Act, 
abolished military tenures, feudal dues, and the right of purvey- 
ance. 3 The Navigation Act of 1651 (§413) was reenacted. 
There was such a division of opinion in regard to the religious 
problems that they were left unsolved. The result of the legis- 
lation was to restore social conditions very nearly to the state in 
which they had been before the Commonwealth. This Parliament 
was dissolved in December, 1660. 

436. The " Cavalier Parliament." 1 661- 16 79. — A new Parlia- 
ment was called, which met in May, 1661. From its strong 
royalist feeling it has been called the " Cavalier Parliament," and 

1 In the matter of lands the question was so difficult that it was said, " Parlia- 
ment had passed an Act of Indemnity for the King's enemies and Oblivion for his 
friends." 

2 There seems to be little doubt that " where Connaught Square now stands, a 
yard or two beneath the street, trodden under foot and beaten by horsehoofs, lies 
the dust of the great Protector." 

3 Purveyance is the right of a sovereign to buy up provisions and other necessa- 
ries for the royal household at an appraised price, in preference to all others, even 
without the owner's consent. The king could also compel certain other services. 
To compensate Charles for this loss he was granted certain excise duties. 



THE RESTORATION 



355 



sometimes, from its length, the "Second Long Parliament" 
(§ 380). It also resembled that body in being fully as intoler- 
ant and vindictive in its measures. As the Convention Parlia- 
ment had restored political and social conditions, so this was 
resolved to restore religious conditions and destroy Puritanism. 
While Parliament 
also restored some 
of the prerogatives 
of the king, it had 
no intention of 
giving him control 
over revenues, or 
the coasts ; or fur- 
nishing him with 
a standing army ; 
or allowing per- 
sonal interference 
with freedom of 
speech in Parlia- 
ment, which 
henceforth was to 
be checked only 
by Parliament it- 
self. 

One of the first 
acts was to confirm the legislation of the Convention Parliament, 
which had not been legally summoned. This act of confirmation 
was only passed by the earnest efforts of both Charles and his 
chief minister, Lord Clarendon. Later (1664) it repealed the 
Triennial Bill (§ 382), restored the bishops to the House of 
Lords, and gave back to the Established Church (1661) all its 
property which had been seized. 

437. The Clarendon Code. 1661-1665. — Parliament now 
began the enactment of what is known as the " Clarendon 




Charles II 



356 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

Code." * The first act was the Corporation Act. By this, mem- 
bership in the various bodies which governed the towns was con- 
fined to such persons as would partake of the communion by the 
rites of the Church of England, would renounce the Covenant 
(§ 393), and take the oaths of allegiance, non-resistance, 2 and 
supremacy. All Nonconformists by the act were debarred from 
political power. 3 

The Act of Uniformity (1662) required all clergymen to use 
the Episcopal Prayer Book and give their " unfeigned assent and 
consent to all and everything contained and prescribed in and by 
the book." Those who refused to do this by St. Bartholomew's 
Day (August 24), 1662, were to be expelled from their livings. 
Those who dissented from the doctrines of the Church of England 
were now called " Dissenters " rather than Nonconformists. 4 

The next law relating to church matters was the Conventicle 
Act (1664), the purpose of which was to prevent Dissenters 
(ministers or laity) from holding meetings for worship. By the 
act the attendance of adults at any religious meeting or conventicle 5 
other than the Church of England was punished by imprisonment 
for the first and second offense, and transportation for the third, 
on pain of death if the criminal returned to England. 

Thousands, rather than obey such a law, braved all dangers and 
in consequence suffered terrible persecution. Hundreds died in 
the filthy and horrible jails of that day, and others endured long 
imprisonment. The most celebrated of these was John Bunyan, 

1 So called from the Earl of Clarendon, Charles's minister, whose policy was car- 
ried out. This succession of laws was, (i) The Corporation Act (1661), (2) Act 
of Uniformity (1662), (3) Conventicle Act (1664), and (4) the Five-Mile Act 
(1665). Together they made a code unequalled in English history for what can 
hardly be called by any other name than tyranny. 

2 This was the doctrine that it was unlawful at any time to take up arms against 
the sovereign. 

3 The chief nonconformist bodies at that time, besides the Roman Catholics, were 
(1) the Presbyterians, (2) the Independents, (3) the Baptists, and (4) the Society 
of Friends, or Quakers. 

4 The title Nonconformists has in recent years again come into general use to 
distinguish Protestants who do not belong to the Established Church. 

6 This was defined as a meeting of five or more persons for religious worship. 



THE CLARENDON CODE 357 

the Baptist, who spent eleven years in Bedford jail rather than 
obey the law. 1 The Quakers suffered most of all, for they not only 
refused to obey the Conventicle Act, but also, on conscientious 
scruples, declined to take any oath whatsoever, though they were 
always willing to make a declaration of their allegiance to the 
government. During the reign of Charles II 13,000 Quakers suf- 
fered imprisonment, mainly on account of the Conventicle Act. 

But the purpose was to root out dissent, and to further this the 
Five-Mile Act was passed (1665). By this act no clergyman or 
schoolmaster was allowed to settle within five miles of a city, 
or corporate town, or any place where he had been minister or 
teacher, unless he declared that he would not " at any time en- 
deavor any alteration of government either in church or state," and 
would subscribe to the doctrine of non-resistance. This act bore 
most heavily on those clergymen who had been expelled from 
their livings by the Act of Uniformity (1662). Unable to exercise 
their former office of minister, many had turned to teaching. By 
this legislation they were cut off from almost all means of self-sup- 
port, for many of them were too old or feeble to turn to manual 
labor. Besides this there is little doubt that it seriously retarded 
the progress of education. 

438. Results of the Clarendon Code. — That it was possible to 
pass such drastic legislation as the Clarendon Code is due to 
several causes. There was a wave of enthusiasm passing over the 
country which carried into Parliament a large royalist majority. 2 
Many of the members were young men belonging to families 
which had suffered from Puritanism, and were large landowners or 
members of the landowning class. To such the democratic 
system of the Presbyterians, Independents, and others was wholly 
distasteful. 

The result of the Code was to make a permanent change in the 

1 It was while thus imprisoned that he wrote Pilgrim's Progress. 

2 Charles recognized this fact, and, knowing it was not likely he would get 
another such Parliament, did not dissolve it for eighteen years. 



358 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

religious life of the kingdom. The Presbyterians and Independ- 
ents among the gentry and nobility, unwilling to forfeit their 
political rights and social position, almost all conformed to the 
state church. To do this was made easier by the great reaction 
from Puritanism. 

The persecutions of the Restoration period were caused more 
by political hatred than by religious intolerance. 

439. The Restoration in Scotland. — In Scotland the union so 
carefully planned by Cromwell (§ 411) was set aside. As in 
England, so in Scotland, the nobility and gentry were pleased at 
the Restoration, for they had suffered much under the Common- 
wealth. But the Scottish Parliament, which soon met, was as 
obsequious to the wishes of Charles as the Convention (§ 430) 
and the Cavalier Parliaments (§ 436). It declared that with the 
king lay "the sole choice and appointment of all the chief officers 
of the kingdom and of summoning and dismissing Parliaments, 
and of making war and peace." It declared "the king supreme 
Governor of this Kingdom over all persons and in all cases." But 
even worse than this, all that had been done in the Parliaments 
which had been held since 1633 was declared null and void. Be- 
sides this it voted the king an annual grant of ,£40,000, an amount 
which the nation could not afford to pay. 1 

440. Punishment and Persecution in Scotland. — As in England, 
it was felt needful to punish some of those who had supported the 
Commonwealth and Protectorate. The chief of these was the 
Marquis of Argyll. The evidence against him was scanty and 
slight, but, notwithstanding, he was condemned and executed 
(May 27, 1661). 2 Several others also suffered death. Acts similar 
to the Act of Uniformity and Five-Mile Act were also passed. 

1 So sweeping were the acts of this Parliament that it was said that the members 
were drunk, and it went by the name of " the Drunken Parliament." 

2 Argyll had been at the head of the Covenanters. He had been one of the chief 
agents in the restoration of Charles, and trusted to the declaration of pardon. But 
this did not save him. It is said that the chief evidence against him was given by 
Monk, " an example of baseness which staggered even the public men of that day." 



SCOTLAND AND IRELAND 359 

The Scottish Covenanters then suffered a persecution similar to 
that inflicted upon the Nonconformists in England, and the brutal 
treatment of the Covenanters remains one of the blackest chapters 
in Scottish history. 

441. Restoration in Ireland. — In Ireland, as in Scotland, the 
union was dissolved, and the Parliament discontinued by Crom- 
well was reestablished. Though the religious persecution was less 
than in England the political policy pursued was worse, for it per- 
manently alienated the large Catholic population of that island. 
The Irish problem, it is true, was a difficult one. The govern- 
ment at first by the Act of Settlement (1661) allowed the settlers 
under the Cromwellian rule, and those who held land gained un- 
der the rule of Charles I, to hold their lands. Later, owing to 
the number of claimants among the royalists and among the fa- 
vorites of Charles II, it was deemed needful to dispossess some 
of the Cromwellian settlers (Act of Explanation, 1665). This, 
however, did not benefit the Irish, and the result was that only 
a third of the land and possibly even less was held by Irish Cath- 
olic owners, 1 and though there was an Irish Parliament, it was 
filled with men of English descent and Protestants, 2 who con- 
firmed all acts of government, while the Catholics had no voice. 

Politically also the dissolution of the union with England was 
greatly injurious to the interests of Ireland, for it deprived the is- 
land of all benefits of the general legislation of the English Parlia- 
ment, placing her almost in the position of a foreign country, and 
making possible that feature of absentee landlordism which has 
been such an instrument for evil. 

442. The Restoration and Foreign Affairs ; French Alliance. — 
The Restoration made more difference in the foreign policy of 
England than appeared on the surface. Cromwell always shaped 

l It is stated that " whereas before 1641 about two thirds of Irish land fit for cul- 
tivation had been in the hands of Catholics, before the end of the reign of Charles 
II, two thirds were in the hands of Protestants." 

2 "So complete was the English supremacy thus established, that (up to 1687) 
one Catholic only had been returned to Parliament since the Restoration." 



360 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

his policy for what he believed to be the benefit of England ; 
while Charles made his own personal advantage the chief object. 
France, under Louis XIV, was the strongest power in Europe. It 
was clearly for the interest of England that the influence of France 
should be checked. But Charles believed that the French alli- 
ance would be to his personal advantage and so fell in with the 
wishes of Louis. 

Dunkirk, acquired under Cromwell (§ 424), he sold in 1662 to 
the French. This act, though unpopular at the time, was really a 
good thing for England, as holding Dunkirk was a heavy expense, 
and continental possessions were a hindrance to her independence. 
In the same year, as a result of the French diplomacy, Charles 
married Catharine of Braganza, a Catholic princess, sister of the 
king of Portugal, a close ally of the French. The treaty made 
with Portugal on the occasion of this event gave England Tangier, 
opposite Gibraltar, and Bombay with the island on which it is 
situated, in India. Bombay was soon handed over to the East 
India Company and became the most important of its stations. 
In addition to these transfers Catharine brought a large dowry. 
This marriage made a bitter enemy of Spain, for it strengthened 
Portugal, which, formerly a part of Spain, had cast off her rule in 
1640. The French alliance was displeasing to many in England. 

443. "War with Holland, 1 664-1 667 ; New Netherland captured, 
1664. — The Dutch were still the great commercial rivals of the 
English. England had reenacted the Navigation Act (§§ 413, 
435), and various conflicts had arisen between the two nations. 
In addition to this, Charles was angry because the Dutch had 
elected John De Witt, an able statesman, as their Stadtholder, in- 
stead of his own nephew, Prince William, son of the late William 
of Orange. Fighting began in 1664. English ships took posses- 
sion of New Netherland (afterwards New York), while the Dutch 
seized English possessions in Africa. 

In 1665 war was formally declared. The Dutch had the abler' 
officers, and their fleet under Admiral Ruyter at one time sailed 



THE PLAGUE AND THE GREAT FIRE 36 1 

up the Thames, entered the Medway, burned several war vessels, 
and blockaded London itself. Such a thing had not been known 
in centuries and has never occurred since. Notwithstanding the 
Dutch successes, England gained some victories and showed her 
power conclusively. Louis XIV joined the Dutch, partly in ac- 
cordance with a treaty and partly because he had no wish to see 
England mistress of the seas. 

444. Peace with Holland ; England gains New Netherland. 
1667. — The Dutch were glad to conclude a peace with the Eng- 
lish (1667). By this treaty each nation was to retain possession 
of what lands it held at the time. This agreement brought New 
Netherland under English dominion. Charles granted it to his 
brother James, Duke of York, and the name was changed to New 
York. The acquisition of New Netherland was of vast importance, 
for it gave the English an unbroken coast line in America, and 
uninterrupted territory from Maine to Florida. The colonial 
policy of the Restoration was a continuation of the expansion 
policy of the Protectorate, as is seen in the establishment of 
Carolina (1663); New Jersey (1667); and Pennsylvania (1681). 

445. The Plague, 1665; The Great Fire, 1666. — During the 
Dutch war London was visited by a terrible epidemic (1665.). 
The plague, as it was called, had appeared in England at intervals 
of about five years. But this was the most devastating invasion. 
It is estimated that in London out of a population of 500,000 
about 70,000 perished. All that were able to do so fled to the 
country, business was practically suspended, and a pall of horror 
was over the city. So numerous were the deaths that all usual 
formalities were dispensed with ; " carts were the biers, and wide 
pits the graves." At night the carts went slowly through the city, 
the driver ringing a bell and calling, " Bring out your dead." On 
the coming of cold weather the disease was stayed. 1 

1 At that time considered as a visitation of Providence, it was probably the 
bubonic plague, and its ravages were vastly increased by bad water, filth, the ab- 
sence of sewerage, and of everything now known as sanitation. 



362 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



The year following the visitation of the plague, London was 
visited by another calamity in the shape of the Great Fire. This 
began on September 2, 1666, and continued three days. A large 
part of the city was destroyed ; it is said that eighty-nine churches, 
among them the splendid Gothic cathedral of Saint Paul, and 




Fleeing from the .Plague in London 
After an old print 

over 13,000 houses were consumed, and more than a third of the 
inhabitants were rendered homeless. Though the fire occasioned 
great loss and suffering at the time, it was in fact a great blessing, 
for all the plague spots and hundreds of ill-built and unsanitary 
buildings were destroyed. 

446. Clarendon ; His Daughter marries James, the King's 
Brother. 1660. — The chief minister and adviser of Charles was 
Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon (§ 437). He was an upright, 
moral man compared with those around him, and was undoubtedly, 
from his point of view, patriotic, but his ideas of government were 
those of a previous age. " By representing king against Parliament 
in matters of money, and Parliament against king in matters of 
religion, he incurred the hostility of both." 

His unpopularity increased, and in 1667 Charles dismissed him 



THE CABAL 



363 



from office. A few months later the Commons impeached him 
on a charge of high treason, but the evidence was so flimsy that the 
Lords refused to send him to prison. By the advice of Charles he 
fled to France, and Parliament passed an act of banishment. 1 




St. Paul's Cathedral, rebuilt after the Great Fire 

447. The "Cabal Ministry," 1667; Aims of Charles II.— 
Up to this time Charles had been greatly influenced by Clarendon ; 
now Charles determined to rule without any chief minister of state, 
but he frequently consulted five men more than others. These men 
were Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, and Lauderdale. 
As their initials spelled Cabal they came to be called the " Cabal 

1 While abroad he finished his History of the Rebellion, a valuable work, though 
greatly prejudiced. 



364 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

Ministry." 1 Of these Lord Ashley, afterwards the Earl of Shaftes- 
bury, was the ablest. All were unprincipled, selfish, and corrupt. 
Except upon a few points they were not united and cannot be 
considered as a cabinet in the modern sense. Their common 
dislike of the old Cavalier party led them to support toleration 
at home and peace abroad. 

Charles II has not had credit enough given him for the skill and 
tenacity with which he pursued for along series of years the object 
of his wishes — personal power, freedom from the dominion of the 
Episcopal party, and the reestablishment of Catholicism ; his 
method was intrigue at home and abroad. His main reliance was 
upon Louis XIV. 

448. Intrigues of Charles II and Louis XIV. — The rapidly 
growing power of France had been regarded with apprehension 
by the English, and in 1668 a triple alliance was formed between 
England, Sweden, and Holland for the purpose of forcing Louis to 
give up his scheme of increasing his possessions at the expense 
of Spain. Louis, deeming it wisest to yield for the time, made 
peace, and gave up some of his conquests (1668). Charles, out- 
wardly supporting the Triple Alliance, was negotiating secretly with 
Louis, to whom he had privately communicated the terms of the 
Alliance. 

As a result of the influence of Louis, Charles negotiated with 
him a secret treaty called the Treaty of Dover (1670). The main 
points were that Charles agreed to support Louis in a war against 
the Dutch ; to support him in his claim to the Spanish throne in 
case the king of Spain should die without a direct heir ; and to 
avow himself a Catholic " as soon as the affairs of his kingdom 
should permit." Louis on his part was to give a large sum of 

1 The word was used to signify a number of persons uniting to gain some private 
ends. It was nothing but a coincidence that the initials of the men in question 
should form the word. Lord Ashley had been prominent in the Commonwealth 
as Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper ; Buckingham was the son of the old favorite of 
Charles I (§§ 349, 363) and had the reputation of being " the maddest, wittiest, most 
profligate man in England " ; Lauderdale was " the Episcopal tyrant of Scotland " ; 
Clifford was a strong Catholic; and Arlington was favorable to Catholicism. 



WAR WITH HOLLAND 365 

money in return for the aid against the Dutch ; turn over to Eng- 
land the province of Zealand in Holland in case of success ; give 
Charles personally ^200,000 a year for declaring himself a Catho- 
lic; and also to furnish troops and money to support Charles in 
England. No English monarch ever made a more disgraceful 
treaty, and Charles did not dare to make known some of its pro- 
visions even to the members of the Cabal. 

One of the reasons which induced Charles to enter into the 
arrangement with Louis was his difficulty in raising money. In 
167 1 Parliament granted a large sum nominally for the navy, after 
which Charles prorogued Parliament. In 1672 the treasury was 
bankrupt and Charles suspended payment of all loans which had 
been made to the government. 1 

449. War with Holland, 1672; William of Orange. — In the 
same year war was declared against Holland in accordance with 
the Treaty of Dover. This war was unpopular. The Dutch had 
not expected war, and when the armies of Louis invaded Holland 
they were unprepared. William, the young Prince of Orange, 
nephew of Charles, 2 though under twenty-two, was made general 
of the Dutch forces, but he had too few men to take much risk. 
De Witt, the Grand Pensionary, or ruler of Holland, seeing no 
other resource, cut the dikes which kept out the sea and effect- 
ually prevented a further advance by the French. 

Meanwhile William had been proclaimed Stadtholder in Hol- 
land, and his career more than justified the choice. When Buck- 
ingham, who was sent from England to urge him to accept the 
terms of Louis, said to him, " Do you not see that the republic is 
lost?" it is reported that William replied, "I know one means 
of never seeing it — to die in the last ditch." From this time 

1 This, known as the " Stop of the Exchequer," was really the beginning of Eng- 
land's national debt. Among the loans whose payment was thus stopped was one 
of ^11,000 due Admiral Sir William Penn, the father of William Penn. It was in 
recognition of this debt that Charles II granted William Penn the province of 
Pennsylvania. 

2 He was the son of Charles's sister Mary, who married the Prince of Orange 
in 164 1. 



366 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

until his death (1702) William was the leader of Europe against 
Louis XIV and the aggressions of France. 

450. James, Duke of York, becomes a Catholic ; Declaration of 
Indulgence. 1672. — James, Duke of York, the brother of the 
king, publicly joined the Catholic Church (1672). Charles, while 
Parliament was not sitting, issued a Declaration of Indulgence ; 1 
this suspended the penal laws against Nonconformists and thus 
gave liberty of worship to Catholics as well as Dissenters. It re- 
leased from prison thousands who were held for disobeying the 
ecclesiastical laws of Parliament. Many of the Dissenters dreaded 
the use of the king's claimed prerogative even more than the penal 
laws against themselves. 

451. Parliament meets; The Test Act. 1673. — Parliament 
came together again after an interval of nearly two years. A 
resolution was passed that " penal statutes in matters ecclesiastical 
cannot be suspended but by act of Parliament." Charles found 
that no money would be forthcoming unless he withdrew the Dec- 
laration, and so he unwillingly complied with the wish of Parlia- 
ment (1673). 

Fearful as it had been of dissent, Parliament was now still more 
fearful of the Catholics, 2 and so passed the Test Act. This re- 
quired, among other things, that all persons holding office under 
the crown must partake of the communion according to the usage 
of the Church of England. It was impossible for a Catholic to 
retain office under this act, and among those who resigned their 
positions were the Duke of York, Clifford, and Arlington. Charles 

1 Charles claimed the right to issue this declaration under the royal power of 
pardon and dispensation. No one doubted the power of the king to pardon in 
individual cases, and this power to some extent implied the power of dispensation, 
that is, to dispense with a law in an individual case. But to make such a general 
dispensation as Charles claimed would mean the annulling of the acts of Parlia- 
ment at the king's pleasure. 

2 The real cause of the great opposition to the Catholics was not religious, but 
political. It was believed that Catholic rule would bring England under the 
political control of the Pope. This feeling was in part an inheritance from the time 
of Elizabeth. 



INTRIGUES OF CHARLES 



367 



did not dare to refuse to sign the bill, for no grant of money had 
been made, but immediately after he had affixed his signature 
Parliament made a large grant. 

The king, wishing to placate the Commons, appointed Sir 
Thomas Osborne high treasurer and practically prime minister. 
He became the Earl of Danby, and is generally known by that 
name. He was a 
strong Cavalier and 
great supporter of 
the church, but he 
recognized fully the 
danger England was 
in from Louis, and 
would have gladly 
renewed the Triple 
Alliance (§ 448) had 
it been possible. 
The war with the 
Dutch, however, was 
ended in 1674. 

Meanwhile, the 
Duke of York had 
married Mary of Mo- 
den a, an Italian 
Catholic princess. 1 
Should she have a son, he would be heir to the throne of England, 
and with Catholic parents he would undoubtedly be educated in 
their faith. 

452. Intrigues of Charles; Danby. 1673-167S. — From this 
time the reign of Charles was so full of intrigues on all sides that 
it is exceedingly difficult to thread one's way through the tangles 

1 The first wife of James, Ann Hyde, daughter of Clarendon, had joined the 
Catholic Church shortly before her death in 1671. Her two daughters, Mary and 
Anne, had been brought up as Protestants, and should lames come to the throne, 
his heirs would be Protestants; but now there was possibility of a Catholic heir. 




Duke of York 
Afterwards King James II 



368 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

of deceit and falsehood. As Danby was working against France, 
and Charles secretly for France, the result was that England's 
position became little short of scandalous. Charles prorogued 
Parliament and did not call it for about a year. Meanwhile he 
made another secret treaty with Louis, promising to enter into no 
engagement with a foreign country without the consent of Louis, 
accepting all the time heavy bribes from him. Danby, on his 
part, used bribery in order to gain members of Parliament over to 
his side, and Louis, aware that Parliament was hostile to him, also 
sent bribes to Shaftesbury to secure his support in a scheme to get 
Parliament dissolved. 

When Parliament met in 1677 it urged Charles to make war 
upon France, whereupon Charles adjourned it. A third secret 
treaty was made with Louis, by which Charles got the promise of 
more money. Notwithstanding these treaties with France, Charles 
in 1678 gave his consent to the marriage of his niece, the Princess 
Mary of York, to his nephew, William of Orange, Stadtholder of 
Holland, the archenemy of Louis. 1 

453. Xouis makes Peace, 1678; "Popish Plot," 1678; Parlia- 
ment Dissolved, 1679. — Louis XIV, disgusted by the duplicity 
of Charles, and distrustful of him, made a peace with his enemies 
(Peace of Nimeguen, 1678). He began to bribe the opposition 
in Parliament and made known the character of the secret deal- 
ings that he had had with Charles. During the negotiations be- 
tween Louis and Charles, Danby, at the command of Charles, had 
written a letter to Louis asking him for money. This correspond- 
ence was published and led to the impeachment of Danby. 

Just at this time an ex-clergyman, Titus Oates, announced 
that he had intelligence of the existence of a plot to assassinate 
the king and restore Catholic rule. The intrigues which had 
come to light and the general fear of Catholicism caused the 

*As has been seen above, Mary was at the time the next heir (§ 451, note) to 
the English throne after James. She and her husband afterwards came to the 
throne as William and Mary. 



HABEAS CORPUS ACT 369 

reality of the plot to be believed, in spite of its improbability and 
of the fact that Oates had a very bad record showing him to be 
totally untrustworthy. Informers abounded, and many innocent 
Catholics suffered imprisonment and death. Parliament passed 
an act disabling Catholics from sitting in Parliament, and 
five Catholic peers were impeached. 1 Charles, to save Danby, 
dissolved Parliament (1679). It na d been chosen in 1661 and 
thus, with the single exception of the famous Long Parliament 
(§ 380), is the longest Parliament in English history. 

454. Habeas Corpus Act, 1679; Exclusion Act. — The new 
Parliament (March, 1679) was violently Protestant. Two measures 
especially engaged its attention : (1) a Habeas Corpus Act 2 for 
the protection of persons accused of crime. This act Charles 
signed with reluctance. (2) A bill for the exclusion of James 
from the succession to the crown, on the ground of his being a 
Catholic. The Commons passed such a bill, but before it was acted 
upon by the Lords, Charles, to gain time, dissolved Parliament. 

455. "Petitioners and Abhorrers ; " Whig and Tory; High 
Church and Low Church. — Another Parliament was chosen (Oc- 
tober, 1697), but Charles dared not allow it to meet. About this 
time the people began to divide into two parties, the one favor- 
ing the exclusion bill and hence the meeting of Parliament ; and 
the other defending the king's prerogative to call Parliament 
or not as he pleased. The adherents of the former were called 
" Petitioners," because they sent petitions for the meeting of Par- 
liament, and the others "Abhorrers," because they expressed their 
abhorrence of the petitions. These names before long were changed 
to Whig and Tory, 3 the Whigs being those who supported exclusion. 

1 Though undoubtedly false, the Oates plot had lasting results, for the exclusion 
of Catholics from Parliament continued till 1829, one hundred and fifty years. 

2 By this act accused persons were secured from the evasions of the old habeas 
corpus requirements (§ 361, note) . 

3 Whig was a name which had been applied to the Covenanters of Scotland; 
Tory was a name taken from Irish outlaws. From this time Whig has been used 
to indicate those who advocate liberal measures, and Tory those who are essentially 
conservative or opposed to change. 



;7° 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



Two other terms came into use about this time which have also 
come down to our times with comparatively little change of mean- 
ing. The strong advocates of the church received the name of 
the High Church Party, and the more liberal members the name 
of Low Church Party. The Tories were practically all High 
Churchmen, and ths Whigs, Low Churchmen. 

456. Scotland, 1679; Duke of Monmouth. — The administra- 
tion of Scotland had roused much ill-feeling. The Covenanters 
had murdered Archbishop Sharp (§ 440) and a revolt broke 
out. The Duke of Monmouth, 1 sent to put this down, was suc- 
cessful, and then treated the rebels with much clemency ; but the 
Duke of York, who was sent as Lord High Commissioner, ex- 
ercised great severity, using torture to extract information against 
the rebels. Shaftesbury, to carry out his own plans, began to use 
Monmouth, who was now spoken of as a possible heir to the throne. 

457. Oxford Parliament. 1680. — At last, a year after it was 
chosen, Charles called the Parliament elected in 1679 to meet at 
Oxford. The temper of this Parliament was similar to that of the 
preceding one. A new Exclusion Bill was hurried through the 
Commons, but, by the efforts of the Marquis of Halifax, defeated 
in the Lords. The Commons on this refused to pass any money 
bill unless the Exclusion Bill was first enacted. Halifax was im- 
peached, and Lord Stafford, one of the Catholic peers accused by 
Oates, was tried and executed. 2 Charles had no recourse but to 
dissolve Parliament. As money was a necessity, the king resolved 
to make an attempt to secure a more tractable Parliament, and 
another election took place, and the new Parliament, like the pre- 
vious one, was called to meet at Oxford. 

458. Charles's Fifth Parliament, 1681 ; Personal Rule, 1681- 
1685. — Parliament, still bent on an Exclusion Bill, believed 
that, as Charles was greatly in need of money, they controlled the 
situation. But Louis XIV, having got all he wished from the Whigs, 

1 Monmouth was one of the many illegitimate children of Charles. 

2 The charge was almost without question a false one. 



PERIOD OF PERSONAL RULE 



371 




Silver Crown of Charles II 



turned again to Charles as the better tool. A verbal treaty had 
been made through the French ambassador by which a three years' 
supply of funds had been promised Charles. He was now free to 
carry out his plans. After 
Parliament had been in 
session only a week he 
suddenly appeared in the 
House of Lords, summoned 
the Commons to meet him, 
and forthwith dissolved 
Parliament. No other Par- 
liament was called during his reign, and the Tories had complete 
control. This period has been called the " second Stuart tyranny." 

459. Attacks on Town Charters. — Charles and the Tory Party 
at once began to put into force the old Clarendon Code (§ 437), 
and Dissenters were persecuted even more severely than they 
had been under the Cavalier Parliament (§ 436). Shaftesbury, a 
special object of hatred to the king, was accused of high treason, 
but before he could be legally tried, the Grand Jury of Middlesex 
(his place of residence) had to find a true bill against him. But 
as London and Middlesex juries were strongly Whig, there was no 
hope of an indictment. By what is known as a Writ of Quo 
Warranto the city of London was accused of certain irregularities 
and its charter was taken away ; the king took upon himself the ap- 
pointment of a Lord Mayor and other officers, and thus obtained 
control. Other cities and towns were treated in the same way, 
and still others resigned their charters, hoping to make better terms 
with the king. In all there were sixty-six cities and towns whose 
charters were thus forfeited or remodeled. Meanwhile Shaftes- 
bury escaped to Holland and died in exile (1683). 

460. Rye House Plot, 1683; Execution of Russell and 
Sidney, 1683. — A new plot now startled the country. Some of 
the more violent of the Whig party formed a plot to attack both 
the king and James at a place called the Rye House, on their way 



Z7 2 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



back from the Newmarket races, and seize or murder them. 
Charles returned earlier than was looked for and so escaped. The 
plot was revealed by one of the conspirators. Among those seized 
were Lord William Russell, Essex, and Algernon Sidney. Russell 
and Sidney were convicted on scanty evidence, and were executed. 
Essex, found dead in the Tower, is supposed to have committed 
suicide. At these unjust trials Judge Jeffreys l became prominent, 
and his career earned for him the title of the " infamous judge." 

461. Charles defies the Laws; His Death, 1685. — The effect 
of the Rye House Plot was to increase the power of the crown 
and to make Charles popular. He now dared openly to disre- 
gard the laws : by neglecting to call a Parliament, though more 
than three years had elapsed since the dissolution of the preceding 
one ; by restoring the Duke of York to the Council in defiance of 
the Test Act; and by releasing Danby from the Tower (§ 453). 

Shortly after this Charles was seized with apoplexy, and in four 
days died. Before his death he acknowledged himself a Catholic 
and was admitted to that church. So strongly were the Tories 
intrenched that James, Duke of York, brother of Charles, suc- 
ceeded to the throne without opposition. 

462. James II, 1685. — James was fifty-two years old. He 
had had considerable experience in administration and was 
businesslike in his habits. He resembled his father in his belief 
in the divine right of kings, in his obstinacy, tenacity of purpose, 
and inability to see any side of a question but his own. So 
far as his mental ability may be judged from results, it was 
much below that of Charles. Like Charles, he was extremely 
immoral. He came to the throne under favorable circumstances, 
the Tories being in full power and the nation inclined to give him 
a fair trial. He had only himself to blame for the fact that his 
reign lasted only three years. 

One of his first acts was to allow the celebration of the mass 

1 It is said of him that " as a criminal judge he was undoubtedly the worst that 
ever disgraced the bench." 



REIGN OK JAMES II 373 

in the royal chapel ; another was to collect the customs duties 
before they were granted by Parliament. As he had issued writs 
for a new Parliament, these matters did not excite the comment 
which they might otherwise have done. He desired above all 
things to be free from the control of Parliament, and to reestab- 
lish the Catholic religion ; but fearing that Parliament might 
not be in accord with his wishes, he followed the example of 
Charles and secured a promise of aid from Louis if Parliament 
should be contrary. But Parliament met, having a large Tory 
majority, and granted James for life not only the revenue given 
Charles but ^500,000 in addition. 

463. Scotland, 1685 ; Argyll's Attempt, 1685.— The Scot- 
tish Parliament had also met, but, as only Episcopalians could sit 
in it, and those represented but a small part of the population, the 
legislation was not in accord with the wishes of the majority of the 
people. This Parliament, as strongly Tory as was the English one, 
avowed its belief in the divine right of kings and passed laws against 
the Covenanters even more bitter than those which had been in 
force. To give or take the Covenanters' oath was made treason ; it 
was also enacted that, " All persons, preachers, or hearers, proved to 
have been present at a conventicle were henceforth to be punished 
by death and confiscation." This went beyond the English laws. 

It was not long before serious attempts to overthrow the new 
king were made both in Scotland and in England. Holland was 
the great resort of refugees from England and Scotland. Here 
Argyll was the chief among the Scottish refugees, and Monmouth, 
the illegitimate son of Charles, among the English. Argyll was 
the son of that Argyll who had suffered death in the early days of 
the Restoration (§ 440). A simultaneous attempt at insurrection 
in England and Scotland was planned, Argyll to lead the Scottish 
and Monmouth the English rising. Argyll, disappointed in not 
receiving the expected support, was soon captured and was exe- 
cuted without trial (1685), under an old bill of attainder which 
had been passed against him (1681). 



374 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



464. Monmouth's Attempt. 1685. — Monmouth landed in 
June, 1685, at Lyme Regis, Dorsetshire, declaring himself the 
legal successor of Charles II. He soon gathered about five 
thousand men who enthusiastically supported him as the Prot- 
estant defender of England. He was proclaimed king at Taun- 
ton. Monmouth, however, gained no recruits from the gentry or 
nobility, which of itself was fatal to his cause. Though he 
marched to Bath and Bristol, neither of these towns would receive 
him. The king had meanwhile sent an army under Lord Fever- 
sham and Lord Churchill. 1 Monmouth attempted a surprise at 
Sedgemoor, near Bridgewater, but was defeated (July 6, 1685). 
This was the last battle fought on English soil. He was captured, 
taken to London, and executed (July 15) under a Bill of Attain- 
der which Parliament had already passed. 

465. Treatment of the Rebels ; Judge Jeffreys. — The treat- 
ment of the rebels was vindictive and cruel in the extreme, and 
the months following the Monmouth rebellion have a record 
unmatched in English history. A large number of his followers 
were hanged by the command of one Colonel Kirke. He was 
followed by a commission of judges headed by Jeffreys. This 
series of trials is known by the name of the " Bloody Assize." a 
During its continuance, in addition to the executions by order of 
Kirke, more than 300 persons were put to death, 3 and over 800 
sold to the West India plantations. Besides the executions an 
immense amount of plunder was secured. The demeanor of 
Jeffreys on the bench toward the unfortunate accused was brutal. 
" He shouted, swore, and laughed over his victims," taunting 
them, and treating them savagely. On his return to London he 
was rewarded by being appointed Lord High Chancellor. 

466. Effects of the Monmouth Rebellion ; Course of James. — 
The crushing of the Monmouth rebellion and the punishment of 

1 John, Lord Churchill, afterwards the Duke of Marlborough, England's greatest 
general. 2 Assize, the sitting of the courts to try cases. 

3 For more than fifty years death had been considered as the punishment for 
leaders only. James returned to the practice of Henry VIII and Elizabeth. 



THE "BLOODY ASSIZE" 



375 



the rebels Had some important effects. First, it showed the power 
of a standing army, and the hopelessness of resistance by untrained 
men ; secondly, it united most of the Protestants, the Whig refu- 
gees, and the Whig party in favor of William, Prince of Orange, 
and his wife, the Princess Mary • thirdly, it caused James to rely on 
his army ; and finally, it helped to bring about the loss of his crown. 

James, believing himself secure, immediately set about restoring 
Catholicism. Officers of the state and of the army whose loyalty 
he doubted were replaced, as far as practicable, by Catholics or 
those who would support the king. Parliament was not in as 
complaisant a mood as before, and refused to alter the Test Act 
(§ 451) or the Habeas Corpus Act (§ 454), though it offered to 
make a liberal grant for the army. James thereupon prorogued 
Parliament, and it did not meet again during his reign. 

467. James attempts Despotic Rule. 1687. — James not only 
attempted to rule without a Parliament, but fell back on the dis- 
pensing power of the crown, as Charles II had done. By changing 
the judges on the bench he managed to get a decision confirming 
this power to the king. He appointed Catholics to various posts 
of authority and influence ; he required the heads of Magdalen 
College, Oxford, to appoint a Catholic to be their president ; he 
constituted, though under a slightly different name, a new Court 
of High Commission, introduced Catholics into the Privy Council, 
and received a Papal Nuncio at court. He had already striven 
to conciliate Ireland so that he might have help from that island. 

His course became so unpopular that he began to curry favor 
with the Dissenters, by issuing Declarations of Indulgence. By 
these documents (1 687-1688) he, by royal authority, suspended 
all laws against Catholics and Dissenters. Contrary to his expec- 
tations, this act had a rather cool reception even among those 
whom personally it benefited most. For they saw clearly that James 
gave them liberty from prison and freedom for worship chiefly 
because thereby he hoped to gain their support. Still, "the 
prisons were opened to thousands of the best men in England, 



376 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

and everywhere public worship was freely resumed by congrega- 
tions who have never since been forced to close their doors," for 
no party that has since been in power has dared to reenact or 
enforce " conventicle acts " or the like. 

468. Trial of the Seven Bishops, 1688; Birth of James's 
Son, 1688. — The second Declaration of Indulgence was com- 
manded by James to be read in all churches on two Sundays in 
June (1688). This at once aroused opposition, and six bishops, 
with the Archbishop of Canterbury, petitioned James against the 
Declaration. This proceeding he treated as a seditious libel, and 
ordered the seven prelates to be prosecuted on this charge. 
This action united all Protestants in support of the bishops. Had 
not James been blindly obstinate, he would have recognized the 
danger of thus proceeding against those supported by public 
opinion, but an event took place at this time which encouraged 
him to go on — the birth of a son. This child now became the 
legal heir to the crown. 1 Up to this time many had been willing 
to endure James because he was past middle life, and his heir, 
Mary of Orange, was Protestant. The whole aspect of affairs at 
once was changed. 

James insisted on the continuance of the prosecution of the bish- 
ops. The jury rendered a verdict of acquittal (June 30) and 
London went wild with joy, and even the soldiers, upon whom 
James depended, cheered in their quarters on Hounslow Heath. 

469. Invitation to William of Orange ; William lands at Tor 
Bay. 1688. — On the same day as the acquittal of the bishops, 
seven prominent men of the kingdom 2 sent an urgent message 
to William of Orange, asking him to come to England and save 
the country. These represented all parties, but of course the 
Whigs were in the majority. Besides this, William received 

1 By the general law of succession a son takes precedence of his elder sisters. 

2 The seven signers were the Earl of Devonshire, Henry Sidney (brother of 
Algernon Sidney (§ 460)), Admiral Russell, and Shrewsbury, all Whigs; Compton, 
Bishop of London, a " trimmer," Danby, a former champion of the royal preroga- 
tive (§ 452) ; and Lumley, who had been a Catholic. 



WILLIAM OF ORANGE 



377 



assurances of support from various persons still in the king's 
service, among them Lord Churchill (§ 464) and several other 
officers of the army. Having such a strong support, William gath- 
ered a force to take with him to England and secure the throne. 




Release of the Seven Bishops 

He landed at Tor Bay November 5, 1688, not far from where 
Monmouth had landed (§ 464). He brought his Dutch and other 
troops with him, numbering about 15,000. At once all England 
deserted James. It was useless to attempt resistance, and 
James, who had accompanied the army, returned to London 
to learn that his other daughter, Anne, and her husband, Prince 
George of Denmark, had also deserted his cause, and that Churchill, 
the commander of the army, had joined forces with the invader. 



378 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

470. Flight of James. 1688. — James, now ready to do any- 
thing to save his crown, agreed to call a Parliament, and appointed 
a commission to negotiate with William. But fearing the result 
of the conference, he sent his wife and infant son to France and 
sought safety himself in flight, having destroyed the writs for a new 
Parliament, and thrown the Great Seal of the Kingdom into the 
Thames. He was captured by some sailors and brought back. 
His presence greatly complicated affairs, and William made it easy 
for him to escape again. The fact of his flight rendered it possible 
to say that he had abdicated the throne, thus removing the scruples 
of some who, while quite ready to support William, could not con- 
scientiously (to so as long as James was in England and nominally 
on the throne. James's own blunders and folly made the way 
much easier for his downfall. 

471. Difficulties before William, 1688; Convention Parlia- 
ment. 1689. — The position of William was by no means an easy 
one. He had published a declaration before leaving Holland that 
he would restore the liberties of England, and that he would abide 
by the decision of a freely elected Parliament. To assume the 
throne by conquest would not be in accord with his declaration, 
and might raise up a host of enemies. After consulting with some 
of the leading men it was concluded to follow the example of Monk 
in 1660, and call a Convention Parliament (§ 430). It met in 
January, 1689, with a Whig majority, though there were Tories in 
the Commons and among the Lords who were reluctant to give up 
the divine right of kings. Two resolutions were passed. First, 
that James had broken the original contract between king and 
people by his conduct, and that having withdrawn himself from the 
kingdom had abdicated the government and left the throne vacant. 
Secondly, that it was " not consistent either with the safety or 
welfare of the kingdom to be governed by a popish prince." 1 

!The first of these resolutions pleased the Whigs because it made James's dep- 
osition depend on his breaking the laws, and the Tories, because it declared the 
throne vacant by his own act, thereby relieving them from the charge of denying 
their old principle of divine right. 



THE REVOLUTION OF 1688 379 

472. The Revolution of 1688. — William and Mary refused any 
plan of government which did not give equal power to each. 
This forced Parliament to accept the Whig doctrine that in Parlia- 
ment, as representing the people, lay the right to decide who 
should reign in England. This was the real revolution of 1688, if 
such it may be called. It was then concluded to offer the crown 
to William and Mary as joint sovereigns ; William to administer 
the government during his lifetime, Mary to succeed should she 
survive him. 1 The Whigs had no intention of repeating the ex- 
perience of 1660, and so a Declaration of Right was drawn up as 
a statement of what was considered to be the law of the kingdom. 2 

This document was accepted by the Parliament and by William 
and Mary, who were proclaimed together, February 13, 1689. As 
the change of rulers was accomplished without bloodshed it bears the 
name of the " bloodless revolution," and the "glorious revolution." 

Strictly speaking, it was not a revolution at all, for it made no 
change in the form of government, which was still that of King, 
Lords, and Commons. It did, however, change the theory of that 
government, which no longer was by divine right, but by the will of 
the people as expressed by Parliament. It formed a precedent 
by which any future Parliament could change rulers who were 
not acceptable. 

References. — Green, Short History, chap, ix, §§ 1-6 ; Gardiner, 
Student's History, chaps, xxxvii-xli ; Terry, History, Part III, Book III, 
chaps, vi-viii ; Tout, Advanced History, Book VI, chaps, iv-v ; Gardiner, 
Puritan Revolution, chap, x, §§ 3-6 ; Traill, Social England, vol. IV, 
chap, xv ; Adams and Stephens, Select Documents, §§ 222-234 ; Cheyney, 
Readings, chap, xvi ; Colby, Selections, §§ 77, 78, 81 ; Kendall, Source- 
Book, §§ 90-101 ; Lee, Source-Book, §§ 175-188. 

iThe succession was to go to their children if they had any ; if not, then to 
Mary's sister Anne and her children, and then to any children of William by a 
second wife, should he survive Mary and marry again. William was at this time 
thirty-eight, and Mary twenty-six. 

2 There were, in fact, some new principles laid down in the Declaration of Right, 
as the illegality of the suspending or dispensing power of a Court of Ecclesiastical 
Commission, etc. 



CHAPTER XXII 

ENGLAND AT THE CLOSE OF THE SEVENTEENTH 
CENTURY 

473. Population ; Agriculture ; The Towns. — The population 
of England at the close of the seventeenth century was about five 
and one half millions 1 and of these about four fifths lived in the 
country. With so small a population it followed that much of the 
land was unoccupied, and forests, marshes, and fens abounded. 
But the general prosperity of the later years of the century led to 
the draining of marshes and fens and to increasing the amount 
of land devoted to agriculture and grazing, but in methods there 
was little improvement. The Poor Laws of Elizabeth (§ 301) 
were modified to some extent, but vagrancy and pauperism re- 
mained a great evil. 

Town life was much as it had been, but there was considerable 
increase in the style and the comforts of living. London even 
then was the largest city in Europe, with a population of about 
500,000. London Bridge was the only bridge across the Thames, 
the streets were ill paved, not lighted at night until 1682, and then 
only in winter. The police force was small and inadequate, and 
many robberies and abductions took place. The clubhouses of 
the day and the great lounging places, where news was discussed 
and gossip spread abroad, were the coffeehouses. Sanitary con- 
ditions, as in all cities and towns and indeed everywhere, were in a 
deplorable state. There were no sewers, heaps of offal often ren- 
dered the air foul, and the public squares were used as dumping 
grounds for all kinds of refuse. 

1 This is considerably less than the population of " Greater London "in 1911, 
which was 7,252,963. 

380 



SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ENGLAND 



381 



The condition of the jails and houses of correction was such as 
to be almost unbelievable, and in consequence deaths from jail 
fever and exposure were frightfully common. 

Outside of London, whose great and rapidly increasing size was 
a cause of much apprehension to thoughtful men, the only large 
towns were Bristol and Norwich, which numbered each perhaps 
20,000 or less. Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, and Sheffield 
were all small ; Leeds, the largest, having but about 7000 inhab- 
itants. The northern counties were still sparsely settled. 




Coach and Sedan Chair 
After title-page of tract, Coach and Sedan, 1636 

474. Travel; Letter Post; News. — Owing to the badness of 
the roads traveling was difficult. On important routes, from 
London to York, for example, there were " stage wagons " which 
carried light goods and passengers. These vehicles were without 
springs, and a ride in one of them was a rough experience. A 
journey from London to York in four days was considered to be 
making good time. 1 The wealthy traveled in their own coaches 
or on horseback. The roads, moreover, were infested with high- 
waymen, and robberies and even murders were frequent. The 
inns were, for the time, good, attractive, and comfortable, far 
more so than many private dwellings. 

Postal service was poor, and in many places letters were delivered 
only once a week. Newspapers in the modern sense did not ex- 
ist. The chief paper was the London Gazette, but it contained 

1 " In 1669 a Flying Coach left Oxford at six in the morning, and reached Lon- 
don at seven the same evening — fifty-five miles in thirteen hours." 



3§2 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



very little intelligence. What was called the News Letter was 
more interesting. This printed the gossip of the coffeehouses 
and of London, and appeared usually once a week. It was sent 
into the country, and aside from private sources was the sole 
means of learning what was going on. 




Wk 




Wiv/W/ 


f 


■'\ll 




3fcf 






IP 


— ^^ 


~% 












^biH 

















A Potter A Tailor 

After Comenius's Orbus Pictus, English edition, i6sg 

475. Trade ; Manufactures ; Minerals. — Domestic trade was 
considerable, but as the roads were bad, and canals had not been 
introduced, inland communication was necessarily by means of 
pack horses. There may still be seen in the north of England 
bridges built for the accommodation of such traffic, and afterwards 
widened for the use of wheeled vehicles. When not sent inland, 
goods were forwarded by coastwise vessels. 

The foreign trade was extensive and was chiefly carried on 
from London and Bristol. Then, as now, London was the great 
shipping center of Europe. 

Manufactures were backward. Almost all fine goods were 
imported. The chief domestic manufacture was that of wool, 
but other industries were springing up and were fostered by 
laws which at present seem very far from being based upon 
true economic principles. The use of some fabrics was entirely 
prohibited, and the manufacture or importation of other goods 
supposed to be injurious to the established manufactures was 
forbidden. The silk trade, which had existed from very early 



INDUSTRIAL LIFE 



3*3 




times, was greatly increased by the French refugees after the 
revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 1685. 

There were no large textile mills, but spinning and weaving 
were carried on in the homes of the operatives, and from them 
the fabrics went to the fullers who dressed the goods, and then 
to the dyers. The great mineral 
deposits, which at a later day 
made England so rich, were un- 
developed, and the greater part 
of the steel and iron used was 
imported. Coal had not come 
into general use, wood being the 
chief fuel employed. 

476. The Classes. — At the 
restoration the nobility regained An English Citizen riding with his 
their old influence and power. 

. After a print of 1623-1625 

I he clergy, even of the Estab- 
lished Church, were miserably paid and in the country were prac- 
tically dependent on the good will of the gentry. 

Below the gentry came the yeomen or small farmers. These 
were sturdy individuals, and often very independent. Lower than 
these were the laborers. These had no political or civil power, 
and, owing to the Poor Laws, which had come down from the time 
of Elizabeth, and to what is known as the Law of Settlement 
(1662), were practically bound to the soil. The man who was 
willing and even anxious for work was not allowed to seek it 
outside his parish. This policy greatly increased the number 
of paupers who had to be supported. 1 The chief employment of 
the laboring class was agriculture of various kinds, including the 
raising of great quantities of sheep. 

477. Social Life. — Partly owing to the difficulty of communi- 
cation, and partly from habit, the country gentlemen spent most 



1 It is estimated that at this period " the paupers amounted to about one seventh 
of the community." 



384 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

of their time in the country, and possibly some never went 
to London. At this period the gentry as a class were poorly 
educated and had little interest in anything beyond the manage- 
ment of their estates and in hunting and the like. 1 At the same 
time, as they were the local magistrates and officers of the 
militia, they exercised no small influence on the country at large. 
Society in the cities, and particularly in London, underwent 
a great change after the Restoration. The reaction from the 
Puritanism of the Commonwealth was great. The loose and 
licentious manners introduced from France by Charles II and his 
court are beyond description. The conversation in the " salons," 
at court entertainments, and on the boards of the theaters was 
such as cannot even be named nowadays. At the same time 
it must be remembered that there were exceptions, and among 
the clergy and others there were not a few men and women of 
purity of life and noble characteristics. 

478. Dress. — The dress of the upper classes, especially in 
London, was in striking contrast with that during the Common- 
wealth, for bright colors, a great deal of ornament, richly laced 
cloaks and collars, flowing plumes, silk waistcoats reaching to the 
calf of the leg, and the like were the rule. During this period 
was introduced the curled and flowing periwig — the most absurd 
of the fashions of the day. But though additional hair was thought 
needful for the top of the head, the face was clean shaven. 

The dress of the women was, perhaps, relatively less extravagant 
than that of the men. While possibly they did not wear periwigs 
to the same extent as the men, these were common, fair hair being 
the fashion. Fringes of curls were popular. Black patches on the 
face, rouge, and cosmetics were greatly in vogue. The dress of 
the middle and lower classes was generally simple and appropriate. 

479. Meals; Amusements. — Meals were still at early hours; 
ordinary dinner being at one o'clock, and even the more fashionable 

!The picture Sir Walter Scott gives of the Osbaldistone family in " Rob Roy," 
though it is of a later date, is scarcely an exaggerated one. 



SOCIAL LIFE AND AMUSEMENTS 385 

persons kept early hours, leaving the house after a dinner-party as 
early as seven or eight o'clock. Mercantile business began at six 
or seven a.m., and to rise at four or five in the morning was not 
uncommon. Forks were not common, and the table manners 
would be considered unbearable now. Drinking was universal, 
and comparatively little water was used, but instead wines, ales, 
beer, and to some extent tea, coffee, and chocolate, though these 
last three were of recent introduction. 1 Even the children were 
given small beer in preference to water. 

Among the upper classes particularly, there was a decided reac- 
tion from the later Puritan severity. Cockfighting and bull baiting 
were attended by many, though held to be rather vulgar. Theaters 
were crowded, and the plays and the acting were of such a char- 
acter as would not be tolerated at the present time. Cardplaying 
was the favorite amusement of all, and gambling was carried to 
great extremes. Billiards were popular, masked balls and enter- 
tainments numerous ; and for quieter home amusements even fine 
ladies and gentlemen did not disdain "crambo," "hunt the 
slipper," " blindman's buff," and similar games. Horseracing, 
fencing, boxing, and prize-fights were favorites among the sporting 
class. Tennis, pell-mell (a game of ball), bowls, and football 
were common. For citizens of almost all classes, pleasure grounds, 
parks, gardens, bear-gardens, were a great source of recreation. 
In the country, the old sports were still common. 

Among the popular attractions were public executions. These 
were eagerly attended ; on the occasion of an execution Tower 
Hill was crammed with lookers-on (§ 381), while windows which 
commanded a close view of the scene were let at fabulous prices. 

480. Education. — Social accomplishments were generally con- 
sidered of more importance in education than book learning : the 
dancing master was better paid than the schoolmaster. The ele- 
ments of education were usually taught at home, and if the 

1 Chocolate was advertised as a new beverage in 1657, tea in 1658, and the first 
coffeehouse in London was opened in 1652. 



3 86 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



parents were well off, the boy was sent to a grammar school or one 
of the schools like Winchester or Eton, and then to Oxford or 
Cambridge. For all who could afford it, travel on the Continent 
under a tutor was regarded as the finishing touch to a liberal edu- 
cation, and frequently this was given instead of university training. 




Oxford, showing Many Seventeenth Century Buildings 

In the education of girls, social accomplishments were even more 
important than was the case with the boys. Household acquire- 
ments were held in high esteem among the more sober people, 
but among the fashionable set or " women of quality " dancing, 
painting, music, and French took the first place. The children 
of the country gentry and of the yeomen had a meager education, 
and for the girls a training in household duties was all-important. 

481. Architecture. — There was very little change in architectural 
styles until about 1640, when, largely through the influence. of 
Inigo Jones, the Italian or classical style came into use and con- 
tinued to be for many years the favorite style for public build- 
ings, and even of dwelling houses. But the great exponent of 
the style was Sir Christopher Wren. The great fire of London 
(§ 445) afforded him a wonderful opportunity, and to his genius is 
due the great St. Paul's Cathedral which rose on the ruins of 



ARCHITECTURE, LITERATURE, AND SCIENCE 387 




A Fine Type of Seventeenth Century Architecture 



the old, and remains one of the glories of London. 1 In addition 

to this great work, he designed fifty-two churches in London. 

Many of them are 

remarkable for the 

gracefulness and 

fine proportions of 

their spires. 

From the time 
of Henry VII al- 
most all the fine 
work in painting 
was done by for- 
eign artists. Hol- 
bein, of the time 
of Henry VIII, 
has left a gallery 
of portraits of 
inestimable value. 

Vandyck, a Fleming of the time of Charles I, has left us portraits 
of that monarch and of distinguished persons of the reign, remark- 
able for beauty and what might be termed poetic touch. Charles I 
was a great patron of art and made a valuable collection of paint- 
ings. Under Cromwell and Charles II, Sir Peter Lely, a Hollander, 
was the great portrait painter. 

482. Literature; Science. — The literature of the seventeenth 
century covers so many fields and is so vast that little can be done 
but call attention to this fact. The literature of the Elizabethan 
period really extended far into the reign of James, and there is no 
dividing line. The drama and lyric poetry, both secular and re- 
ligious, abounded. Ben Jonson, George Chapman, Fletcher, 
Ford, Webster, among the dramatists ; Herrick,- Herbert, Crashaw, 

1 The cathedral is the third in size in Europe, and was thirty-five years in building. 
It was designed and built under one architect, one master mason, and one bishop. 
In the crypt is the famous inscription above the tomb of Wren (died, 1725) ; .Sit 
monumentum requieris, circumspice: " If you seek his monument, look around."' 



3 88 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



and others, among the lyrists, — lived far into the century. Later 
(1608-1674), John Milton gained a place only second to Shake- 
speare, while a host of 
graceful lyrists carried 
on the traditions of an 
earlier day. 

Never had England 
had such a wealth of 
prose. Bacon, Sir 
Thomas Browne, 
Hobbes, Fuller, 
Jeremy Taylor, Walton, 
Bunyan, Baxter, and 
above all, for style and 
beauty of language, the 
Authorized English 
Version of the Bible, 
issued in 161 1, which 
more than any other 
one book helped to keep English pure and simple. 

Closely connected with literature was the great advance of sci- 
ence. In this century was made the discovery of logarithms by 
Napier, and of the circulation of the blood by Harvey. Bacon in 
his philosophical works, by laying the emphasis on experience and 
experiment, exercised a lasting influence in the field of scientific 
investigation. In 1662 the Royal Society, founded a few years 
earlier, received its charter. Among its founders were Sir Chris- 
topher Wren and Robert Boyle, the chemist. 

References. — Traill, Social England, vol. iv, chaps, xiii-xv; Cheyney, In- 
dustrial and Social History, chap, vii (in part) ; Tout, Advanced History, 
Book vi, chap, v; Macaulay, History of England, chap, iii; Cheyney, Read- 
ings, chap, xvi, § 2; Colby, Selections, §§ 68, 74, 75. 




John Milton 



CHAPTER XXIII 
GROWTH OF PARLIAMENT AND PARTY GOVERNMENT 

483. William III (1650-1702) ; Mary (166 2-1 694) ; 1688.— 
William was cold and haughty in manner, and had neither the 
wish nor the power to attract a personal following. He had been 
educated in the school of extreme Calvinism and had no sympathy 
with episcopacy. Though he never was popular with his English 
subjects, they learned to respect him. He was much helped by 
Queen Mary, who was handsome, winning in her manner, warm- 
hearted, gentle, and of irreproachable private character. She 
was, moreover, though broad in her sympathies, devoted to the 
Church of England. 

William had accepted the invitation to come to England chiefly 
because the support of England was necessary for the Protestant 
league against Louis XIV. He loved Holland and his Dutchmen, 
and endured the English. He was courageous, an excellent 
general, and a keen and far-sighted statesman. No defeat or dis- 
aster caused him to yield in the slightest degree in his struggle to 
thwart the efforts of Louis for absolute supremacy in Europe. 

484. Early Incidents of the Reign ; Non-Jurors. 1 690. — 
William, as he had been put on the throne by the joint action of 
the Whigs and Tories, chose his ministers of state from both parties. 

On the same day that William and Mary accepted the throne, 
the Convention Parliament (§ 471) was declared to be a true Par- 
liament. This was partly on account of the risk in calling a new 
one, and partly because it had been so recently chosen that it was 
reasonable to suppose that it represented the views of the electors. 

Several important matters claimed the attention of the Parlia- 
ment. (1) A new oath of allegiance and supremacy was needed. 

389 



390 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



That all who held government offices should take the oath of 
allegiance to William and Mary went without saying, but in the 
case of the clergy it was not quite so clear. William being a non- 
churchman wished the clergy to be excepted, but the majority in 
Parliament insisted, and so all clergymen were required to take the 

oath of allegiance to 
the king and queen 
and to acknowledge 
them as heads of the 
Church of England. 
All who did not take 
these oaths by Febru- 
ary, 1690, were to be 
deprived of their 
benefices. Arch- 
bishop Sancroft and 
seven bishops refused 
and were in conse- 
quence deprived of 
their offices and 
others appointed in 
their place. About 
four hundred of the 
clergy following their example were dispossessed of their livings. 
These men were called Non-Jurors, and formed a little body of 
their own which lasted for a century. 1 

485. Bill of Rights; Toleration Act. 1689. — (2) The 
Declaration of Right (§472) was embodied in a formal Bill of 
Rights. This bill has long been considered as one of the bulwarks 
of British liberty. (3) A Toleration Act. Though not by any 
means giving religious liberty, this act was a vast advance on any- 

1 Of the eight ecclesiastics the Archbishop and four of the bishops were of the 
seven who had refused to read the Declaration of James (§ 468) . They held to the 
divine right of succession and to the doctrine of passive obedience, both of 
which the Revolution had overthrown. 




Willi \m III 



WILLIAM AND MARY 



391 



thing before it. Dissenters were still deprived of many privileges, 
and the laws against them remained on the statute books, the pen- 
alties only having been removed. 1 

486. Mutiny Act, 1689; Parliament Dissolved, 1690; Act of 
Grace, 1690. — (4) A Mutiny Act. This was occasioned by a 
mutiny in the army, 
soon suppressed by 
William's Dutch 
troops. 

A bill was passed 
giving the king power 
to maintain a stand- 
ing army and enforce 
martial law, but re- 
stricting this latter 
power to six months 
(afterwards length- 
ened to one year). 
This meant that in 
order to keep the 
army together a new 
mutiny act must be 
passed by Parliament 
every year. This action had the further advantage of requiring 
annual sessions ot Parliament. Thus it was one of the most 
important bills which had ever been passed. 2 

1 It was many years before Dissenters were allowed to hold any public or mili- 
tary office unless they partook of the communion according to the usage of the 
Church of England; and not until 1870 could they enjoy all the privileges of the 
universities of Oxford and Cambridge. To the credit of William III, it must be 
said that no Catholic lost his life at the time of the Revolution, and no cruel 
persecutions of any kind took place during his reign. 

2 The practice of passing annual Mutiny Acts has been continued down to the 
present time, and is one of the most important checks on royal power in the 
English constitution. In the United States a simiiar check on the President is 
made by the provision in the Constitution that no appropriation for the army can 
be made for a longer period than two years. 




Queen Mary 



392 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



The strife between the Whigs and Tories was bitter, and it was 
difficult for William to mediate between them, and at last, in 1690, 
he dissolved Parliament and called another one. In this the 
Tories had a majority. It, too, was by no means pliant, but 
through William's influence an Act of Grace was passed which 
granted indemnity to all political offenders except a very few, and 
these were never punished. 

487. Ireland ; Siege of Londonderry. — If the Revolution was 
bloodless in England, it was by no means so in Ireland and Scot- 
land. In Ireland the resistance was almost a national one, not so 
much because of personal opposition to William, as because a 
large party believed that it might be possible to secure the 
independence of Ireland, and so, though this party supported 
James, they did not do so simply for his sake. James landed in 
Ireland in March, 1689, bringing with him some French troops. 
He at once called an Irish Parliament to meet in Dublin. This 
was a Catholic body. It proclaimed the independence of Ireland 
and repealed the Act of Settlement (1661) (§441) which had 
confirmed land to Englishmen ; it then passed " The Great Act of 
Attainder," by which 2443 Protestants named in the bill were, 
without trial or hearing, condemned to death and their property 
confiscated. 

The Protestants in the southern part of the island were forced 
to submit to James. Those in the north, who were the most 
numerous, for self-preservation attempted resistance, and in Ulster 
they took arms in the name of William and Protestantism. The 
chief towns of Ulster were Londonderry and Enniskillen. Lon- 
donderry was soon besieged by the army of James. A boom 
stretched across the river prevented supplies from reaching the 
town, which was closely invested. Though reduced to the utmost 
extremities for food, the citizens held out for 105 days; then, 
when but two days' scanty provisions remained, ships sent by 
William broke the boom in the river and brought food to the fam- 
ishing people. James's army raised the siege and Londonderry 



AFFAIRS IN IRELAND 393 

was saved. A few days later the men of Enniskillen, who had un- 
dergone a somewhat similar experience, defeated their foes at 
Newton-Butler. 

488. Battle of the Boyne, 1690; Treaty of Limerick, 1691. 
— William recognized the necessity of retaining Ireland if he 
wished to continue to be king. He therefore sent Marshall 
Schomberg, one of his best generals, to Ireland with a body of 
English troops. But this army, greatly weakened by an epidemic 
of camp fever, accomplished little. William himself then went 
to Ireland, landing at Carrickfergus in June, 1690. He brought 
30,000 English and Dutch troops with him. On the first of July, 
at the battle of the Boyne, he defeated James and drove his army 
in a panic toward Dublin. James fled to France, but Schomberg 
was killed in the battle. 

William entered Dublin as a victor and then went on to 
Limerick, but was unable to take the town. He returned to 
England at the close of the summer, leaving affairs in charge of 
one of his Dutch generals. Not until October, 1691, was the con- 
quest of Ireland completed. Then by the Treaty of Limerick 
peace was made. The terms were not severe. All Irish soldiers 
who wished to do so were allowed to go to France and enter the 
service of Louis. 1 The other provisions of the treaty unfortu- 
nately were never carried out. 

489. Intolerance of the Irish Parliament. — As the English 
Parliament had passed an act excluding Catholics from the Irish 
Parliament, the latter was now as strongly Protestant as its im- 
mediate predecessor had been Catholic. It refused to be bound 
by the terms of the Treaty of Limerick. Protestant supremacy 
was then settled in a way which went beyond even Cromwell or 
Strafford. Catholics were deprived of all political rights, and were 
not allowed to hold lands or will property except to Protestants ; 

1 It is said that 34,000 took advantage of this permission, and emigrated with 
their families. The famous Irish Brigade of France was formed from these men. 
Irish names have since occurred in French annals of civil and military service with 
credit and renown. 



394 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



orphans, if minors, were put under the care of Protestant guard- 
ians ; Catholic schoolmasters were not permitted, nor were Catho- 
lics allowed to send their children abroad to be educated ; priests 
and monks were ordered to leave the island and not to return 
under pain of death. This code was one of the most vindictive 
and persecuting in British annals. 

490. English Parliament, and Ireland ; Irish Emigration. — 
But it was not only the Irish Catholics who suffered. The Eng- 
lish Parliament was now the final authority in relation to Irish 
affairs, and this body was as intolerant as it was unjust. To bene- 
fit English cloth makers the export of Irish cloth was prohibited, 
although this greatly injured the Protestants in the north of 
Ireland, to whom this industry had become a chief means of 
support. The Toleration Act (§ 485), to please the few Epis- 
copalians in Ireland and the High Church Party in England, was 
not extended to Ireland, and so the Presbyterians, who had fought 
and suffered so much at Londonderry, were forbidden to worship 
according to their conscience. As a result thousands of Protes- 
tants, of that Scotch-Irish class so sturdy, so independent, and so 
able, found refuge in the New World, peopling the region 
then known as the backwoods of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the 
Carolinas. It is hard to conceive of a policy short of bodily 
cruelty more fatal to harmony, development, and justice. The 
vast majority of Irishmen were permanently embittered against 
England. Had he been free from Parliament, William's well- 
known love of tolerance would doubtless have made a very much 
better settlement. But it must be confessed that, on the whole, 
his treatment of the Irish question, so far as he had the power, is 
not to his credit, and remains one of the blots upon his reign. 

491. Revolution in Scotland. 1689. — The resistance in Scot- 
land to William and Mary's rule was not so strong as in Ireland. 
In March, 1689, a convention was called to meet in Edin- 
burgh. It proved to have a large Whig majority. It declared that 
James VII (James II of England) had forfeited the crown; it 



AFFAIRS IN SCOTLAND 395 

passed a Declaration of Right called the " Claim of Rights," and 
offered the crown to William and Mary. The offer was accepted, 
and William and Mary took the Scottish coronation oath at White- 
hall, London, in the presence of Scottish commissioners, and 
agreed to carry out the wishes of the convention. The convention 
restored Presbyterianism, which became the state religion and has 
continued to be so from that time. 

492. Highlanders and Dundee. 1689. — James's representative, 
John Graham of Claverhouse, now Viscount of Dundee, went to 
the Highlands to try to stir up the clans to rise for James. But 
these Highlanders were far more interested in their own petty 
feuds than in James or William. By skillful management Dun- 
dee got together a large force of men ready to do anything to 
keep down the clan Campbell, against the members of which 
all had grudges. As the Campbells were Whigs, they were sup- 
porters of William and Mary. Thus the enemies of the Camp- 
bells were hostile to William. The Highlanders under Dundee 
met the forces of William under Mackay at the pass of Killie- 
krankie and defeated them (July, 1689). But Dundee was 
killed and Mackay was soon able to rally his troops. The High- 
landers, more desirous of plunder than of a successful campaign, 
soon retired to their mountain homes with their spoil. This left 
William master of Scotland, for James had no large following in the 
lowlands, which were the more populous portions of the country. 

493. Massacre of Glencoe. 1692. — The Highlanders were 
still in a very restless state, and it was determined to attempt to 
buy them off. All who would not come in and take the oaths 
of allegiance before December 31, 1691, were to be considered 
guilty of treason. One of the chieftains, Macdonald of Glencoe, 
put 'off taking the oath till the last moment. A snowstorm de- 
layed him, and though the magistrate explained how the oath was 
belated, Campbell, bent on personal revenge, sent an officer with 
a party of troops to Glencoe, the home of the Macdonalds. 
They were treated with hospitality for a fortnight. Then one 



396 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

morning, before dawn, the soldiers fell upon their unsuspecting 
hosts, and slaughtered the chief, his wife, and thirty-eight of the 
clan, including some women and children. Two or three times 
as many perished from cold and hardship in their flight. 

The primary responsibility for this massacre rests with Captain 
Campbell, who led the expedition, and John Dalrymple, known 
as the Master of Stair, 1 William's chief agent in Scotland ; 
William, however, cannot be acquitted of blame. The most that 
can be said in palliation of William's share in this transaction 
is, that he, doubtless, had no idea of the way in which his order 
would be carried out. So great was the indignation excited by 
this deed that William was forced to dismiss the Master of Stair 
from office. 

494. Foreign Affairs; Beachy Head. 1690. — After the Peace 
of Nimeguen (§ 453) William had succeeded in forming a 
great league known as the Grand Alliance against Louis. His 
accession to the English throne was of the greatest advantage to 
him, and without it he must have failed. The action of Louis in 
supporting James II was all that was needed to make England 
actively support the alliance. War was declared against France 
in May, 1689 ; but as William was in Ireland (§ 488), all authority 
was given to Mary. Notwithstanding Holland, Spain, Denmark, 
Sweden, and other powers were allied against him, Louis managed 
to hold his own. He equipped a strong fleet, and on June 30, 
1690, the French Admiral Tourville won a great victory over the 
combined English and Dutch fleets off Beachy Head. The Eng- 
lish were almost panic-stricken. The courage, wisdom, and 
ability with which Mary conducted affairs during this trying 
time endeared her to all Englishmen. The French contented 
themselves with burning Teignmouth, but for the moment all 
England was united. Following the defeat off Beachy Head came 
the news of William's victory of the Boyne (§ 488), and England 
once more breathed freely. Much as the victory meant to Eng- 

1 The eldest son of a Scottish lord was called by the title of Master. 



PEACE OF RYSWICK 



397 



land, it also affected the whole course of European history. For 
it destroyed any hope of attacking William by way of Ireland, 
and this left him free to carry out his continental plans against 
Louis XIV. 

495. Victory of La Hogue. 1692. — The defeat at Beachy 
Head was a severe blow to the pride of England and also of 
Holland, besides making the danger of a French invasion a very 
real one. Had Louis been better advised, or had he dared to 
risk an invasion without waiting for a rising of the Jacobites 1 in 
England, he would have not only greatly injured England and her 
power, but have inflicted a possibly fatal blow upon William and 
his plans. As it was, England put forth great efforts, and by the 
time Louis felt ready to attempt an invasion Admiral Russell met 
the French fleet off La Hogue, Normandy, and inflicted a crushing 
defeat (May 19, 1692) before the eyes of James II, who was on 
shore watching the action. That victory saved England from any 
invasion and blasted the hopes of James. 

496. Peace of Ryswick. 1697. — On land the fighting was 
mostly in the Netherlands, and the French were generally the 
victors ■ but somehow, William, who crossed over to Holland 
every summer, was able to bring it about that the French secured 
very little fruit from their success, and Louis scarcely did more 
than hold his own. William at last won a decided victory at 
Namur (1695), and in 1697 peace was declared and a treaty signed 
at Ryswick, near The Hague. Louis gave back all his conquests 
made during the war, and acknowledged William as king and the 
succession to the crown as had been fixed by Parliament. William 
thus succeeded in setting limits to the power of France, secured 
his own recognition, put an end to France's support of James II, 
had come out of the struggle stronger than at its beginning, and, 
moreover, had gained for England a position in Europe such as 
she had not held since the time of Cromwell. On the other 

1 The adherents of James from this time were called Jacobites, from Jacobus, the 
Latin for James. 



398 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

hand, the Grand Alliance against France was dissolved, and France 
remained unquestionably the strongest and most united power in 
Europe. 

497. The National Debt; Bank of England, 1694; Triennial 
Bill. 1694. — The war had been costly to England, and the raising 
of funds to meet the outlay had been no easy matter. Out of 
this need arose two institutions which have lasted till the present 
day — the National Debt and the Bank of England. Heretofore, 
money had been generally raised by taxation, or by short loans 
from bankers or individuals, which were always considered to be 
temporary measures. But Charles Montague, Chancellor of the 
Exchequer, proposed (1693) that the government should raise 
money by a loan, the payment of which should be in the distant 
future and the interest upon which should become a part of the 
fixed annual national expenses. 1 The next year (1694), at the 
suggestion of William Paterson, a member of Parliament and a 
successful merchant, a company of merchants agreed to lend the 
government ^1,200,000 at a specified rate of interest in return for 
a charter conferring certain banking and financial privileges. The 
need of the country for better banking and monetary facilities made 
the enterprise a successful one, and the Bank of England not only 
became the financial agent of the government, but also gave the 
merchants of England a far safer place of deposit than the old- 
fashioned system of banking with the goldsmiths. 

Not the least important result of these financial measures was 
the additional support that it gave to William's government and 
the principles of the Revolution. All who subscribed to the loans, 
or who had stock in the Bank, or deposited in it, became thereby 
personally interested in the permanence of the existing govern- 
ment ; for, if James II should return, it was morally certain that no 
effort would be made to pay interest on money which had been 
used to keep him from the throne. 

Parliament also passed (1694) a new Triennial Bill, by which a 

1 The early loans were arranged upon a complicated system of life annuities. 



FINANCES AND THE SUCCESSION 



399 



was provided that no Parliament could sit longer than three years. 
This was a direct blow at the royal power, as it required frequent 
appeals to the voters. William had vetoed a similar bill in 1693, 
but felt obliged to assent to this. 1 









The Bank of England 
The present building, Threadneedle Street, London 

498. Death of Queen Mary ; The Succession ; Freedom of the 
Press; Plots. — In the very last days of 1694 (December 28) a 
great sorrow fell upon England in the death, from smallpox, after 
a very short illness, of Queen Mary, at the early age of thirty-three. 
She was much beloved by the nation at large. To William the 
blow was a crushing one and he never fully recovered from it. 2 

As Mary and William were childless, Mary's sister was the next 
heir to the throne. She had married Prince George of Denmark 



1 By the Triennial Bill of Charles I (1641) (§ 382) it was required that a Parlia- 
ment should sit at least once in three years; this bill called for a new election once 
in three years. 

2 William had not always been a faithful husband, and during the early years of 
their married life he had been unkind, but through Mary's devotion to him and 
his interests he became deeply attached to her. 

The conduct of Mary in accepting her father's throne has been stigmatized by 
Stuart defenders as " a violation of the moral law," and as " unnatural conduct." 
But in royal affairs family relations have too often been sacrificed without condem- 
nation to be severely dwelt upon in the case of Mary and Anne. That Mary recog- 
nized with pain the necessity of acting as she did is abundantly evident, but she felt 
that it was her duty to follow her husband. 



400 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



(1683), but of her numerous children only one was surviving at the 
time of Mary's death. 

In 1695 an important step in the direction of greater liberty 
was the removal of the censorship of the press ; this was accom- 
plished by the House of Commons refusing to renew the Licensing 
Act. 1 From this time the people could not only worship as 
they pleased, but also print what they pleased, provided it was 
not " libellous, seditious, or blasphemous." 

Perhaps the most serious of the many plots to restore James was 
that called Fenwick's plot from the chief conspirator, Sir John 
Fenwick. He was seized, but owing to a new law in regard to 
treason requiring the testimony of two witnesses, he could not be 
convicted. Parliament therefore condemned him by a bill of at- 
tainder, and under it he was executed (January, 1697). This was 
the last bill of attainder passed by an English Parliament under 
which an execution took place. 2 

499. First Party Ministry. 1697. — William had chosen his 
ministers from both political parties. But the plan had not 
worked well. As there was always a reasonable doubt of William's 
ability to retain his crown, some of the leaders while in his service 
did not hesitate to communicate with James, and in some instances 
were mixed up with Jacobite plots. Marlborough, who had fought 
successfully for William in Ireland, had been dismissed in disgrace 
for complicity in some of these plots. Corruption, especially 
among the Tory leaders, had also come to light. William there- 
fore was almost obliged to turn to the Whigs. On the advice of 
the Earl of Sunderland, once one of the ministers of James II, he 

1 A Licensing Act passed in 1662 had been renewed from time to time ; by this 
it was made unlawful under severe penalties to publish any book or paper unless 
previously licensed by the government licenser. The act had been allowed to lapse 
in 1679, but had been reenacted in 1685. 

2 Though the old Law of Treason of Edward III had nominally required the 
testimony of two witnesses, it had been evaded. The new law made the sworn 
testimony of two witnesses essential. It also allowed the accused the right of legal 
counsel, a copy of the indictment before the trial, and other privileges which had 
previously been denied. 



FIRST PARTY MINISTRY 



40I 



determined to form a ministry wholly of Whigs. Of these he con- 
sulted four more than others, and they became known as the Junto. 1 
There is no reason whatever to suppose that William had in mind 
a ministry responsible to the House of Commons, but the plan 
was clearly a step in that direction. 

500. Recoinage Act, 1696; The Loyal Association. — Another 
measure of great importance was the Recoinage Act (1696). 
Coins had been usually issued with smooth edges, and it was easy 
to clip slight pieces of metal from them, the result being that coins 
were seldom of their "full nominal value. To remedy this it was 
decided to call in all coins and issue an entirely new set with 
milled edges to prevent clipping. To compel the presentation of 
the old coins for redemption, all old and mutilated coins were to 
cease to be a legal tender after a certain date. To insure the 
genuineness of the issue, Sir Isaac Newton, the noted scientist and 
philosopher, was appointed master of the mint. 

At the conclusion of the Peace of Ryswick (§ 496) William was 
more nearly popular than he had ever been. The Fenwick and 
other plots against him had also aroused public sympathy, and as 
in the case of Elizabeth an association 2 was formed to protect him 
or avenge his death, should he be assassinated, and Parliament 
passed an act requiring all officers civil and military to join it. 

501. The Darien Scheme. 1 695-1 699. — The selfish policy of 
England was seen, not only in Ireland, but in Scotland as well. 
For instance, the Navigation Act (§ 443) was not extended to Scot- 
land, neither could the Scots have a share in the English trading 
companies. While English commerce was profitable and increas- 
ing, that of Scotland was small and hampered by the lack of privi- 
leges that England enjoyed. William Paterson, the originator of 

1 Junto, a Spanish word meaning a knot of men. The ministers were Lord 
Somers, Lord High Chancellor; Montague, Chancellor of the Exchequer; Lord 
Russell, First Lord of the Admiralty; and Lord Wharton, the " political boss" of 
the day. 

2 It was called the " Loyal Association." Over four hundred members of the 
House of Commons and thousands of private citizens joined. 



402 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

the Bank of England, a Scotsman by birth, conceived the idea of 
establishing a trading company, somewhat like the East India 
Company, for trading with America and the West Indies. The 
Isthmus of Panama, or Darien, as it was then called, was selected 
as the main station, as it commanded both oceans. A charter 
was granted by the Scottish Parliament, and a large sum of money 
was invested in the scheme. Two expeditions of colonists went 
out (1698, 1699) and attempted to make a settlement, but two 
most important features were either overlooked or ignored : first, 
the tropical climate ; and secondly, the fact that Darien was in 
Spanish territory. Besides this, both the East India Company 
and the Dutch merchants looked upon the scheme as an infringe- 
ment of their rights. William disliked the plan, for it would, if 
carried out, inevitably lead to war with Spain, besides angering 
the Dutch. Through disease, attacks by the Spaniards, and 
lack of support the enterprise ended in failure and total loss for 
the stockholders and emigrants. The Scots laid the whole blame 
upon William, and there was much ill feeling against him and 
England. 

502. The Army; Irish Land Grants. 1699, 1700. — William 
recognized that the Peace of Ryswick (§ 496) was only a cessation 
of hostilities. In Parliament, however, the inherited fear of a 
standing army and the great expense of maintaining it united both 
Whigs and Tories in support of a measure to reduce the English 
army to a peace footing. In the face of William's opposition, by 
the end of 1700 the army had been reduced to 7000 men. More- 
over, William was forced to send his faithful Dutch guards back 
to Holland. This so angered him that it is said that he threat- 
ened to abdicate. This action of Parliament was a sorry return 
for what William had done for England, and also a mean treat- 
ment of the Dutch soldiers who had bravely fought the battles of 
Englishmen. 

Other troubles came from Ireland. Large tracts of land in 
that island had come into the possession of the crown after the 



FOREIGN AFFAIRS 403 

conquest ; of these lands William very unwisely made large grants 
to his favorites, especially to his Dutch friends. The House of 
Commons, ill pleased with this action, proceeded to annul these 
grants and divide the land among favorites of its own. It also 
declared forfeited land which had not been forfeited at all. The 
Lords, though opposed to these measures, finally yielded. 1 The 
Commons also fiercely attacked Somers, the Lord High Chancel- 
lor, and William required his resignation. This helped to estab- 
lish a precedent that ministers of state unwelcome to the House 
of Commons cannot remain in office. 

503. The Spanish Succession. 1698. — Louis XIV had agreed 
to the Treaty of Ryswick (§ 496) because he wished to get ready 
for another conflict which he saw was inevitable. This was in 
relation to the question as to whom the empire of Spain would 
descend. The king of Spain, Charles II, was childless and in 
such ill health that he might die at any moment. The first wife 
of Louis XIV was the older sister of Charles, and Louis might 
claim the Spanish crown for one of his sons or grandsons. The 

The Spanish Succession 

Philip III of Spain 
1598-1621 



Anne PHILIP IV of Spain Maria 

= Louis XIII of France 1621-1665 = Emp. FERDINAND III 



Louis XIV 1 _ | I I 

= Maria Theresa Charles II of Spain Margaret (1)= LEOPOLD I 
I 1665-1700 Theresa d. 1705 

Louis the Dauphin _l = (3) Eleanor 

1 r~ L_ 

I 1 Maria 

Louis Philip V = Max Emanuel Joseph I Archduke Charles 

D. of Burgundy of Spain of Bavaria - d . l?ll Emp. Charles VI 

I D. ofAnjou , . I .. (after 1711, d. 1740) 

Louis XV 1700-1746 J°f e P h Ferdinand 

Electoral Prince 
d. 1699 

1 The Commons gained their point with the Lords by attaching the land meas- 
ures to a money bill which the Lords were forced to pass or leave the govern- 
ment without sufficient funds. In modern times this is called " attaching a rider." 
The Lords were not allowed to alter a money bill. 



404 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



younger sister of Charles had married the German emperor, 
Leopold of Austria, whose grandson, a child, was the Electoral 
Prince of Bavaria. By the marriage settlement in each case the 
sisters of Charles had renounced any claim each might have to 
the Spanish crown ; so, legally, they and their children were 
disqualified. Leopold, however, was claimant for himself or his 
son on the ground that he was the son of an aunt of Charles, 
who had made no renunciation of her claim. The Dauphin of 
France, son of the oldest sister, would have had the best claim, had 
it not been for his mother's renunciation. 

The vast territories of Spain, both in Europe and the New 
World, made the question of the Spanish succession one of very 
great importance to every European government. If a French 
prince should be given the crown, it would enormously increase 
the lands under French influence and greatly strengthen the 
power of Louis ; should the Austrian prince succeed, it would 
have a similar effect upon Austrian influence and power. 

To England and Holland, independently of the increase of 
power brought to their great enemy, Louis, should the French 
claimant gain the throne, there might be an incalculable loss of 
commercial wealth and power. The greater part of the carrying 
trade of the world was now divided between England and Hol- 
land, and the trade of both with Spain and her colonies was 
extremely profitable. Besides this, Spain had become so weak 
that a very large part of her trade with her own colonies had 
fallen into English and Dutch hands. Should the Austrians gain 
Spain, the balance of power in Europe would also be affected, 
though not to so great a degree. William saw conditions far 
better than most, and strove to meet them in the way most 
favorable for the interests of England and Holland ; and if possible 
to avoid war, which would inevitably break out should either 
France or Austria receive the crown. 

504. The Partition Treaties. 1698, 1700. — Louis, not yet 
ready for another war, was willing to listen to the overtures of 



FOREIGN AFFAIRS 405 

William, who tried to persuade him that it was better for him to 
gain part of Spain's dominion peacefully than to go to war for the 
whole. As a result of this negotiation a secret treaty, known as 
the First Partition Treaty, was signed by England, France, and 
Holland (1698). This provided that in case of the death of 
Charles of Spain his crown should go to the young Electoral Prince 
of Bavaria, but that certain provinces of the kingdom should be 
divided between France and Austria. This certainly was the 
wisest plan, but unfortunately the child died the next year (1699). 
A second secret Partition Treaty was arranged (1700) between 
William and Louis by which the Archduke Charles, second son of 
Leopold of Austria, took the place of the Electoral Prince, and some 
changes were made in the disposition of the territories. 1 

Where so many interests are involved, secrecy becomes almost 
impossible ; and when Charles of Spain and the Spainards learned 
of what had been going on, they were indignant at this parceling 
out of the destiny of Spain by foreigners. 

505. Death of Charles of Spain ; His Will. 1 700. — Charles 
of Spain died (November 1, 1700) and surprised every one by 
leaving all his dominions to Philip, Duke of Anjou, second son of 
the Dauphin, and so grandson of Louis XIV. 2 Louis was in a di- 
lemma, but the Partition Treaty had not been accepted by Austria 
• and would not be, for the will of Charles provided that in case the 
Duke of Anjou refused the inheritance it was to go the Archduke 
Charles, who would then get the whole dominion instead of part, 
as would be the case if Louis carried out the treaty to which he 
had agreed. Louis had to decide either to refuse the will and 
have Austria and Spain united, or accept the will and break the 
treaty and run the risk of having England, Holland, and Austria 

1 The fact that Charles of Spain was believed to be incapable of negotiating 
partly explains the otherwise high-handed .measures of William and Louis. 

2 He was the younger son of the Dauphin Louis. Old renunciations were dis- 
posed of by the argument that they had been given so that the kingdoms should 
not be united, and as the will provided that " no part of the monarchy should be 
alienated from its main body, and that this should never be united with any other 
foreign state," there was no violation of agreements. 



406 history of England 

declare war. He concluded to accept the will and break his word. 
Louis's grandson was recognized as Philip V of Spain. At the 
time it seemed as if all that William had been striving for had 
been lost. 

506. English Feeling; The Act of Settlement. 1701. — The 
Tory Parliament was angry when the fact of the Partition Treaties 
came to light, and William's Whig ministers were impeached for 
their share in the negotiations on the ground that it put Protestant- 
ism in danger. Their impeachment, however, was dropped and 
the Parliament was dissolved. A new Parliament had also a Tory 
majority in the Commons. The important work of this body was 
the final settlement of the succession to the crown. Anne's last 
child, the little Duke of Gloucester, had died, and after Anne the suc- 
cession was in doubt. By this time the vast majority of both Whigs 
and Tories had given up the doctrine of the divine right of kings, 
and held that the right to fix the succession lay in Parliament. 
Accordingly the Act of Settlement was passed (June n, 1701), 
fixing the succession in case of either William or Anne having no 
direct descendants, in the Electress Sophia of Hanover * and her 
Protestant descendants. It was further provided that all future 
monarchs must be Protestants and members of the Church of 
England. Becoming a Catholic, or marrying a Catholic, would 
bar any heir from the throne. Other provisions were that no per- 
son holding office under the crown, or receiving a pension from 
it, could sit in the House of Commons. 2 Judges were to remain 
in office during good behavior and could be removed only by both 
Houses of Parliament. This act was the final blow in England to 
absolute power and the divine right of kings, for in fixing the suc- 
cession as it did regardless of strict hereditary descent, it asserted 

1 Sophia was the daughter of Elizabeth, daughter of James 1, who had married 
(1613) the Elector Palatine (§351), afterwards king of Bohemia. There were a 
number of heirs nearer in blood, but they all were Catholics. Elizabeth was a sister 
of Prince Rupert (§390). 

2 This provision was changed in a few years, when it was decided that any mem- 
ber of Parliament appointed to office must offer himself for reelection. This rule 
still holds good. 



ACT OF SETTLEMENT; DEATH OF WILLIAM III 407 

in the strongest way the right of the people to choose by whom 
they should be ruled. 

507. The "Old Pretender"; Grand Alliance. 1702. — Mean- 
time, Louis entered upon a course which brought against him the 
enmity of even the extreme Tories. James II died in 1701, and 
Louis immediately recognized his son as James III of England, 
Scotland, and Ireland. This was contrary to the spirit if not the 
letter of the Treaty of Ryswick (§ 496), and at once aroused deep 
indignation among both Whigs and Tories. Louis also seized 
certain fortresses on the Dutch borders which had by treaty been 
garrisoned by Dutch troops ; he proclaimed that France would be 
treated as the most favored nation in trade with the Spanish-Amer- 
ican colonies, and that Philip V was eligible to the French crown. 

William had already been able to organize a new Grand Alliance, 
for Austria had declared war against France. A new Parliament 
was chosen which had a Whig majority. It soon passed an act of 
attainder against the Pretender, as he was called, who claimed to 
be James III. The act, though from some points of view foolish 
and harmless, showed the Pretender and Louis what they might 
expect. Louis had touched England in her most tender points — 
her commerce and the right to choose her rulers. Holland's very 
existence was threatened, as well as her commerce. The interests 
of England and Holland were one. 

508. Death of William III. 1 702. — Parliament authorized an 
army of 40,000 men and made a grant for the navy. While Wil- 
liam was full of preparation for the new conflict, he was suddenly 
cut off. While riding from Kensington to Hampton Court his 
horse stumbled over a molehill ; William fell, broke his collar bone, 
and sustained internal injuries. Weak in body and in frail health, 
he was not able to stand the shock, and in a few days (March 8, 
1 702) he died, just when it seemed that there was the best chance 
of succeeding in his lifelong effort. 

William was the last king of England who can without question 
be called great. " His record as a ruler pure and simple, as a 



408 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

mere expert in the art of governing, has never been surpassed, 
perhaps never equaled in history." He was rich in the great 
saving virtues of " good sense, self-restraint, and honesty." He 
was always faithful to his compact with the people of England, and 
yet held " in one hand the threads of a vast network of European 
diplomacy, and in the other the sword which kept the most for- 
midable of European monarchs at bay." 

509. Anne. 1702. — Anne, sister of Mary, succeeded to the 
crown without opposition. She was the second daughter of 
James II (§ 451, note), and was thirty-seven at the time of her ac- 
cession. Her husband, Prince George of Denmark, was a man of 
small capacity and coarse habits, who had little influence. 1 Anne 
was of " middle size, well proportioned ; her hair was of dark 
brown color, her complexion ruddy ; her features were regular, her 
countenance was rather round than oval, and her aspect more 
comely than majestic." In character she was kindly, honest, 
religious, and true to her friends ; but she was also obstinate and 
narrow-minded, and of small intellectual power. She had a true 
sense of her responsibilities and was a thorough Englishwoman, 
having, as she said in her first speech, an entirely English heart. 
This fact, more than any other, endeared her to her subjects and, 
added to her kindness of heart, gave her the name of " good 
Queen Anne." 2 

Anne was High Church in her views and so sympathized with 
the Tories. Like most obstinate persons, when carefully managed 
she was easily influenced by a strong character. In her case 
such a one was found in Sarah, the wife of Marlborough, who, 
beginning as Sarah Jennings, a lady-in-waiting, became the bosom 
friend of Anne. A woman of strong will, ambitious, and not 
overscrupulous, she gained unbounded influence over the queen. 

1 Charles II said of him, " I have tried him drunk, and I have tried him sober, 
and there is nothing in him." 

2 There can be little doubt that the feeling was increased by the circumstance 
that she came between two foreign monarchs — William, a Dutchman, and George, 
a German. 



QUEEN ANNE 



409 



510. Churchill, Earl of Marlborough (1650-1722). — John 
Churchill, Earl of Marlborough (§ 464), was at Anne's accession 
fifty-two years old. He was thoroughly selfish ; he had not 
hesitated to betray James II or William, when he believed that 
his own interests could be served, and he was avaricious, insin- 
cere, and a time- 
server ; in private 
morals, however, he 
was better than 
most public men of 
that vicious age. 
He was handsome 
in person, suave 
and graceful in his 
manners, tactful, 
and resourceful, ap- 
parently " never in 
a hurry, never 
vexed, and never 
worried." While 
somewhat lacking 
in broad statesman- 
ship and true polit- 
ical ability, his tact 
and pleasant man- 
ner made him almost as successful a diplomatist as William. 
Though it is said that he never commanded an army until he was 
more than forty, he never lost a battle ; and he ranks with the 
best generals of history. The relations between Anne and his 
wife gave Marlborough the position which might not otherwise 
have been his. His course was dictated by selfishness, but it 
happened that, at least for a time, his selfishness coincided with 
the policy of William, England, and Europe against Louis XIV 
and Spain. 







Queen Anne 



4io 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



511. Tory Ministry ; War of the Spanish Succession. 1702- 
17 13. — Anne soon exchanged William's Whig ministers for Tory 
ones, and through Marlborough's influence the chief minister 
was Lord Godolphin, whose son had married one of Marlbor- 
ough's daughters. Godolphin was an unprincipled man, like 
his friend, but he was an able financier and a warm-hearted 
supporter of Marlborough and his plans. 

War against France was formally declared in May, 1702. 1 It 
lasted twelve years and is known as the War of the Spanish 
Succession. Against France and Spain were allied England, 
Holland, Austria, most of the smaller German states, and Prussia, 
lately made a kingdom by the emperor of Germany to secure 
her for the Grand Alliance. 2 

Louis XIV had some support in Germany, for the Electors 
of Bavaria and Cologne were on his side. Another decided ad- 
vantage was that, instead of being his enemies, the Spanish 
Netherlands were now under his control. The opposing forces 
were well matched and the issues involved were great. The 
active campaign was begun in the Spanish Netherlands. To 
Marlborough was given the command of both the English and the 
Dutch forces, and he was successful, capturing two cities and 
gaining control of the Rhine. In other places the allied states 
were not so fortunate. Marlborough returned to England, re- 
ceived the thanks of the Commons, and was created a duke by 
the queen. It was needful for the allies to set up some one as 
king of Spain, and the Archduke Charles, second son of the 
Emperor Leopold, was selected. 

512. Blenheim. 1704. — Portugal joined the Alliance in 1 703 
(Treaty of Methuen) ; and Savoy, angered by the overbearing 
attitude of Louis, deserted him and joined the Alliance. Louis, 
believing that Marlborough would not leave the Netherlands, 

1 It was waged not only in Europe, but in America as well, where it went by the 
name of Queen Anne's War. 

2 The Electorate of Brandenburg became the Kingdom of Prussia, January 18, 
1701. 



MARLBOROUGH'S CAMPAIGNS 41 1 

attacked Austria. But Marlborough by forced marches joined 
Prince Eugene of Savoy, 1 and the combined armies met the 
French and Bavarian armies at Blenheim (German Blindheim) 
on the Danube, not far from Hochstadt, and completely defeated 
them (August 13, 1704). Austria was saved, Bavaria was at the 
mercy of the allies, and France humbled, for she had not lost 
a battle in the field for sixty years. The English in their delight 
presented the manor of Woodstock to Marlborough and began 
to erect upon it the huge pile of buildings called, after the victory, 
Blenheim. 

513. Gibraltar, 1704; Marlborough and Allies Victorious, 
1 704-1 709. — In the same year (1704) an expedition under Lord 
Rooke captured the fortress of Gibraltar, and the next year (1705) 
Lord Peterborough took Barcelona, and with an allied army of the 
English, Dutch, Portuguese, and Catalans (belonging to a re- 
volting province of Spain) occupied Madrid (1 706). Marlborough 
next began hostilities in the Netherlands and won a memorable 
victory over the French at Ramilies (May, 1706). Prince Eugene 
was successful in Italy, and the year 1 706 closed with the allies 
victorious everywhere and the power of France humbled as it 
had not been for centuries. Louis was ready to make peace-, 
but the allies, flushed with success, would not hear of his terms, 
and so the war went on. 

The year of 1707 was one of disaster for the allies. Though 
they had won victories and taken Madrid, the capital, they had 
not advanced any nearer the real conquest of Spain. A few thou- 
sand men marching about does not mean control. The next year 
Marlborough came to the aid of the Dutch and gained another of 
his great victories at Oudenarde (1708) and also other successes. 
Again Louis made overtures for peace, and again they were re- 
fused. Louis made desperate efforts, and raised another army, 

l Eugene was a younger member of the House of Savoy ; he was born in France, 
but deeming himself insulted by Louis, he left France and entered the service of 
the emperor. He ranks after Marlborough as the best general of the Alliance. 



412 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



only to be defeated by Marlborough and Eugene at Malplaquet 
(September n, 1709), one of the most bloody battles on record. 1 
This was the last great victory of Marlborough, for though the 
war hung on, it was marked by no great engagement. 

514. The War Unpopular; Dismissal of Marlborough, 1710; 
Negotiations, 1711. — The English were weary of fighting and the 
expenses had been enormous. Louis had been humbled, and 
reasonable terms had been offered. It was felt that Marlborough 
and the Whigs, who had gradually got into office, were prolong- 
ing the war for their own benefit. The Whigs made several false 
moves ; and Anne dismissed some of her ministers, dissolved Par- 
liament, and called a new one (17 10). This had a Tory majority. 
Private negotiations for peace were entered into with Louis, and 
Marlborough saw his influence and power steadily decline. In the 
same year he was accused of appropriating public money, and of 
other matters, and was by the queen herself dismissed from all 
public offices. 2 At last, in 171 1 the allies opened negotiations 
with Louis, but it was not until 1713 (March 30) that the Treaty 
of Utrecht was signed and the long war came to a close. 

515. Peace of Utrecht. 1713- — The main features of this 
most important treaty were : (1) Spain and the Indies were as- 
signed to Philip V ; (2) it was agreed that Spain and France 
should never be united ; (3) France recognized the Protestant 
succession in England and agreed to expel the Pretender from 
France ; (4) the Dutch were to garrison certain fortresses along 
the southern frontier of what had been the Spanish, but which by 
the treaty became the Austrian Netherlands; (5) to the Duke of 
Savoy was given Sicily in addition to his former possessions, with 

1 The allies lost about 20,000 of their 100,000 men, and the French about 12,000. 

2 Marlborough's defense was dignified. He claimed that he had received the 
funds in accordance with established precedent, and that they had been used, 
not for his own benefit, but in the secret service for the good of the general cause. 
Impartial judgment must acquit him of the charges. Marlborough retired to the 
Continent, not returning to England till the death of Anne. George appointed 
him commander-in-chief, but he was treated with neglect. His health failed, and 
he died in 1722. 



UNION OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND 



413 



the title of King of Sicily ; (6) Brandenburg was recognized as the 
kingdom of Prussia; (7) England received Acadia (Nova Scotia) 
and Newfoundland, and France relinquished any claim to the 
Hudson Bay Territory ; (8) England retained permanently the 
fortress of Gibraltar and the Isle of Minorca. 1 Certain other 
political settlements were made. This treaty had a vast influence 
on the development of the British colonies in America. In the 
commercial agreements also England gained much. France 
agreed to receive no commercial privileges from Spain which 
would give her special advantage in the trade with Spain or her 
colonies, and Spain confirmed a recent arrangement by which the 
exclusive right to import 
negro slaves into the Span- 
ish Indies was granted to 
England. This is known 
as the Assiento. 

By this treaty England 
greatly strengthened her 
commercial and maritime 
position, but did not secure 
as much as she was entitled 
to, considering Marl- 
borough's great victories, 

and the enormous expenses the war had entailed upon her. France 
came out of the struggle retaining her territories, but shorn of her 
prestige, exhausted financially and economically, and worst of all, 
retaining the system of absolutism which was to result in the great 
revolution of the eighteenth century. 

516. Union of England and Scotland (1707); Ireland. — 
Meanwhile the course of domestic affairs in England had been of 
no little interest. First of importance was the legislative union 




Union Jack 

a. Scotch cross of St. Andrew, 
cross of St. George 



b. English 



1 Several treaties were required to arrange the great variety of interests involved, 
and the emperor did not agree to terms until the next year ; Peace of Rastadt 
(I7I4)- 



4H 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



of England and Scotland. Various incidents had occurred to in- 
crease the ill feeling between the countries until it was clear that 
unless a union came about there would be trouble. A joint com- 
mission in which each country was equally represented was ap- 
pointed to prepare a plan of union (1706). There was great 
opposition in Scotland to the terms agreed upon, but finally, the 
Scottish Parliament passed the bill of union, which was ratified by 
the English Parliament, and the union became a fact May 1, 1707. 1 
Though unpopular in Scotland, and to some extent in England, 
the union was of incalculable advantage to each country, but par- 
ticularly to Scotland. 

There was no change in the laws against Catholics in Ireland, 
and the commercial regulations which practically crushed Irish 
trade and manufacturers remained unaltered. 

517. Domestic Politics; Creation of Tory Peers. 17 11. — The 
Duchess of Marlborough, by her arrogance and ill temper, gradually 
lost her influence over the queen and her place was taken by a 
Mrs. Masham, a strong Tory. A new Parliament called by Anne 
had in it a large majority of Tories and High Churchmen. A Tory 
ministry was now formed, with Robert Harley, soon to be Earl of 
Oxford, and Henry St. John, afterwards Viscount Bolingbroke, as 
chief men. It was through their influence that Marlborough lost 
his position ( § 5 14). There was still a Whig majority in the House 
of Lords, but this was overcome by the creation of twelve peers 
by the queen. This action was of more than temporary importance, 
for it had now come to be a fact that the ministry, if not wholly 
the ruling power in the state, was so in most things. A precedent 

1 The terms of the union were: (1) the Electress Sophia and her heirs, if Prot- 
estants, should succeed to the crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain ; 
(2) the two countries should be governed by one Parliament sitting in London, in 
which Scotland should be represented by forty-five members in the Commons, and 
in the House of Lords by sixteen peers elected by the whole body of Scottish nobles 
for every Parliament ; (3) all ports of England and her colonies should be open 
to the Scots ; (4) Scotland should maintain her own church and her own law ; (5) 
there should be one flag, made of the crosses of St. Andrew and St. George com- 
bined ; this came to be known as the " Union Jack," 



DEATH OF QUEEN ANNE 415 

was established which hereafter made it possible for the government 
to create enough new peers to overcome any hostile majority in 
the House of Lords (§§ 619, 693). 

518. Occasional Conformity Act, 1711 ; Schism Act, 1714. — 
Two intolerant acts were passed by Anne's last Parliament. The 
first of these was the Occasional Conformity Act (1711). This 
practically drove all Dissenters from office. 1 The second and 
far worse act was the Schism Act (1714). By this it was forbidden 
for any one to keep a school unless he had a license from a bishop 
of the Church of England. This would prevent any Dissenter 
from teaching in any public or private school and would force 
Dissenters, if they sent their children to school, to send them to 
church schools. Through the efforts of the Whigs, schoolmistresses 
were excepted and also those who taught only reading, writing, 
arithmetic, and a few other elementary subjects. This intolerant 
act remained in force four years. 

519. Death of Queen Anne. 17 14. — Just at this time the 
Electress Sophia died at the age of eighty, and her son George 
became the heir to the crown. He was known to be favorable to 
the Whigs, and opposed to the Treaty of Utrecht (§ 515). Queen 
Anne's health was poor, and, should she die, it was practically 
certain that the Tories would go out of office. The sole objection 
in the minds of many High Church Tories to James the Pretender 
was his religion, and if he could be persuaded to turn Protestant 
it was believed that the Act of Succession could be repealed. James 
honorably refused to change his religion. Exactly what plans 
were being laid is not known, but before anything was matured 
Queen Anne died suddenly of apoplexy (August 1, 1 714). Boling- 
broke and his friends were unprepared, and the Whig members of 
the Council were able to proclaim George, Elector of Hanover, 2 
as George I, King of Great Britain and Ireland. 

1 The provisions of the act made it impossible for any but members of the 
Church of England to hold office. It is greatly to the discredit of the Whigs in the 
House of Lords that this bill was passed through their connivance. 

3 Though he is usually so called, the correct title was Brunswick-Liineburg. 



416 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



520. George I (1660-1727). 1714. — George Lewis of Han- 
over, the son of Sophia, granddaughter of James I, was now fifty- 
four years old ; he was a soldier and had seen active service in the 
late wars. His private life was immoral ; in public his manners 
were cold and unattractive. Though he was charged with being slow 
in intellect, he had a very clear idea of European politics ; he 
administered his paternal inheritance with skill and success, and 
he was much liked by his Hanoverian subjects. Notwithstanding 
the fact that his mother spoke English fluently, and he knew that 

House of Brunswick or Hanover 

Sophia 

(Granddaughter of James I) 

= Ernest, D. of Brunswiek-Liineburg 



George I 
1714-1727 
= Sophia Dorothea 



I 
Sophia Charlotte 
= Frederick I of Prussia 



George II 
1727-1760 
= Caroline of Anspach 



Ernest Augustus 
d. 1728 



Sophia Dorothea = Frederick William I of Prussia 



I 
Frederick 
Prince of Wales 
d. 1751 
= Augusta 



r r~ 

Anne William 

= William D. of Cumberland 
of Orange d. 1765 



Mary 



Louisa 



Augusta 



George III 

1760-1820 
= Charlotte 



r I 1 ill 1 

George Frederick William Edward Ernest Augustus Aldolphus 

IV D. of York IV D. ot Kent D. of d. 1843 D. of 

1820-1830 d. 1827 1830-1837 d. 1820 Cumber- Cambridge 

= Caroline = Adelaide = Victoria land d. 1850 



six 
daughters 



of Brunswick 

I 
Princess Charlotte 
d. 1817 



Victoria 

1 837-1901 

= Albert of 

Saxe-Coburg-Gotha 



King of 
Hanover r 
I °37 - George Augusta Mary Adelaide 
l8 5 I D. of d. 1900 



Cambridge = Francis 

George V d. 1904 D. of Teck 

Edward VII of Hanover 

I 1851-1866 J ' 

George V deposed Victoria Mary (Princess May) 

= George, Prince of Wales 
George V 



THE WHIGS IX POWER 



4^7 



he would probably inherit the English crown, he never troubled 
himself to learn the English language, and throughout his reign of 
thirteen years he never was able to converse with his British sub- 
jects in their own tongue. He never cared for England, and, 
whenever it was practical, gladly visited his Hanoverian dominions. 
He was endured 
by his British sub- 
jects as a neces- 
sity. His family 
life was tragic ; 
he had been mar- 
ried when about /^iCTX 
twenty-one to his -^ g&5-° 
cousin, Sophia 
Dorothea. After 
eleven years he 
divorced her on a 
charge of infidel- 
ity and imprisoned 
her in a castle 
where she re- 
mained till her 
death, a period of 
thirty-two years. 1 
He hated his 
eldest son, after- 
wards George II, and never was fully reconciled to him. 

521. The Whigs in Office ; Results of the Accession of George I. 
— Though ignorant of English politics and English ways, George 
recognized that it was to the Whigs he owed the crown, and he 
intrusted his English interests to the Whig statesmen. He was 

1 There is no doubt that there were faults on both sides, but the charges made 
against the unhappy princess have never been proved, and the whole transaction is 
a terrible stain on the character of George. 




George I 
After the painting by Sir G. Kellner 



418 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

well aware of the influence England had in continental affairs and 
took good care that in England's foreign policy the interests of 
Hanover should suffer no loss. Notwithstanding their dislike of 
George, the English people owe him a large debt of gratitude. 
His ignorance of the English language forced him to govern 
through ministers, and as it was a farce for him to preside at de- 
liberations which he was unable to follow, he set the precedent of 
staying away from councils. The result of this practice was that 
the ministers of the crown acquired increased power and be- 
came to a very large extent independent of the king. Moreover, 
as it was needful that the ministry should have a head, the office 
of prime minister was a natural development. 

It also became more and more evident during George's reign 
that the ministry must be in accord with the majority in the Com- 
mons, for as the Commons held the purse strings of the nation, 
they could successfully block almost any action of the cabinet, 
and so it came about that the Commons and not the king had 
the final voice in government. The fact that George was a 
foreigner, more interested in continental affairs than in English, and 
moreover unable to speak the English language, added greatly to 
the ease and rapidity of the change to a limited monarchy and free 
constitutional government — a change which came about peacefully. 

522. Unequal Representation in Parliament ; Whigs in Power. 
1 714. — The House of Commons represented the landholders and 
the merchants rather than the people. Members were chosen 
much as they had been in the days of Elizabeth or even earlier, 
and few changes had been made in the election districts. Owing 
to the changes of population, in some places a few voters chose 
two members of Parliament, while in others, where a large popu- 
lation had grown up, there were no representatives, because 
there had been no representative a century or more earlier. In 
the country, and often in the towns or boroughs as well, the large 
landholders had an overwhelming influence in elections. The 
government also often controlled elections by its influence and by 



UNEQUAL REPRESENTATION IN PARLIAMENT 419 

bribery, which now rightly looked upon as a crime was then a 
common method of gaining political ends. England was, there- 
fore, an aristocratic rather than a democratic country. The 
party which had the most political skill was the one likely to 
get control and retain it. The Whigs at the accession of George 
were the best political managers ; circumstances favored them, 
and they were not slow to see their advantage and seize it, 
and they retained the direction of public affairs for about fifty 
years (1714-1761). While there is much to blame in their 
methods, their long rule, which was based upon a policy of peace, 
was of inestimable benefit to England, for it gave her not only 
the opportunity to extend her commerce and develop her manu- 
factures, but also a period of quiet in which political and religious 
differences became less and less acute. 

523. Whigs and Tories (1714, 1715) ; Riot Act. 1715. — 
The Whigs, determined to get rid of the Tory leaders, impeached 
on a charge of high treason the Earl of Oxford, Bolingbroke, and 
the Duke of Ormond, against whom there was suspicion of having 
held communication with the Pretender, and on account of secret 
dealings with France during the negotiations connected with the 
Treaty of Utrecht (§ 515). Bolingbroke and Ormond fled to the 
Continent, and a bill of attainder was passed against them. 1 Ox- 
ford was tried and escaped with two years' imprisonment in the 
Tower. There were still many Jacobites in the country, and 
having failed to secure their end by intrigue, they resorted to 
revolt. There were riots in several towns and to cope with such 
occasions a new Riot Act was passed (1715). 2 

524. Scottish Rising. 17 15. — Louis XIV, in defiance of the 
Treaty of Utrecht (§ 515), not only allowed the Pretender to re- 

1 Bolingbroke entered into the service of the Pretender, becoming his chief 
adviser. 

2 By this act a crowd consisting of more than twelve persons refusing to separate 
within a given time, after notice by a competent authority, might be dispersed, and 
the partakers in the disturbance held guilty of felony, while those who might take 
life in putting down the mob could not be held guilty of murder. A similar act 
had been passed in the time of Queen Mary. 



420 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



main in France, but assisted him in getting ready to make a 
descent upon Scotland. While these preparations were going on, 
Louis died (September i, 1715.) In Scotland the union was still 
unpopular, and Argyll (§ 463), who had espoused the Hanoverian 
side, was hated by the Highlanders. But for any permanent suc- 
cess it was needful for the Pretender to have hearty support from 
France, a well-organized plan, enthusiasm for the cause, and 
simultaneous risings in England and Scotland. Not one of these 
conditions was adequately met. The Earl of Mar raised the 
standard of the Pretender in the Highlands, September 6, 1 715, 
and a month later (October 7) there was a rising in Northumber- 
land under the Earl of Derwentwater and a Mr. Forster, the 
member of Parliament for the county. These latter were joined 
by a few others, and also by a number of Lowland sympathizers 
from Scotland. The combined forces reached Preston, where 
they surrendered to the king's army. The same day the Earl of 
Mar's army was checked at Sheriffmuir, near Dunblane, and he 
was compelled to retreat. James landed in Scotland in Decem- 
ber ; but the Highlanders had gone home ; the English risings 
had been put down ; and he found little support ; so there was 
nothing left for him but to return to France. On reaching that 
country he dismissed Bolingbroke, the only one of his followers 
who had given him the good advice not to make this attempt. 1 

525. Leaders Executed ; Results of the Rising. — The Whigs 
treated the Scottish rebels with comparative leniency, but in 
England the Earls of Derwentwater and Kenmure were beheaded 
on Tower Hill, and thirty-eight other persons were put to death, 
many were banished to practical slavery in the West Indies, and 
many estates were forfeited. 

The failure of the attempt showed conclusively that very few of 
the English nobles and gentry were willing to risk their lives and 
property in any attempt to restore the Stuarts. 

1 After this Bolingbroke deserted the Pretender and turned to the Hanoverians. 
He was able to return to England in 1723 by the repeal of the bill against him. 



SKITKWIAI, ACT 



421 



526. Septennial Act, 1 71 6 ; Repeal of Occasional Conformity and 
Schism Acts, 1718. — On the plea that a general election was 
unwise in the disturbed state of the country, the Whig Parliament 
passed a bill extending the possible duration of a Parliament to 
seven years (1716), 1 and, though a number of attempts were made 
to return to triennial Parliaments, the act remained in force until 
191 1 (§ 691), when the limit was changed to five years. 2 

One result of the Pretender's attempt was that the Whigs, de- 
sirous of gaining the support of the Dissenters, repealed (17 18) 
the Schism Act ofi7i4 and the Occasional Conformity Act of 
1711 (§518). The Test and Corporation Acts (§§451, 437) 
were continued for many years. 3 

527. Triple Alliance. 1716. — Hanover was threatened both 
from Sweden and Russia. The latter, under Peter the Great, was 
now entering into the field of European politics. 

Several of George's ministers resigned or were dismissed because 
they objected to defending George's Hanoverian dominions. 
Nevertheless George managed to form in 17 16 a Triple Alliance 
between Holland, France, and England ; for, strange as it may 
seem, the interests of these three nations agreed, or seemed to 
agree, for the time. Louis XIV was succeeded by his great grandr 
son, Louis XV, a boy whose guardian and regent was Philip, Duke 
of Orleans, the next heir to the French crown. Philip was jealous 
of Philip V of Spain, who, moreover, might claim the French 
crown in case of the death of Louis XV, who was a sickly lad. 
Peace was made in 1720 and for twelve years Europe was quiet. 

528. South Sea Scheme. 1711-1722. — The peace policy of 
the Whigs had brought great commercial prosperity to England, 
and there was much capital to be invested. As always happens 

1 Though not passed until May 7, 1716, it is known on the Statute Books as the 
" Septennial Act of 1715." 

2 As a matter of fact, very few Parliaments have lasted over six years, and the 
average duration has been about four years. 

3 To placate the Dissenters an indemnity act was passed relieving them from the 
penalties of the bills if they did not conform to the provisions. Such a bill was 
passed annually until 1828, when the Test Act was repealed. 



422 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



under such circumstances, many schemes of commercial enter- 
prise were set on foot. The largest and most venturesome of 
these was carried on by the South Sea Company. This was a 
trading company founded in 1711 with the exclusive right of 
trading in the South Seas (Pacific Ocean) in accordance with the 




The Old South Sea House, London 

terms of the Treaty of Utrecht (§515). It had been very suc- 
cessful and had paid good dividends on its stock. As the 
wealth of Spanish America was believed to be boundless, the 
success of the company was thought to be assured. The South 
Sea Company now offered to buy up the national debt, on which 
a heavy rate of interest was paid, and so great was the con- 
fidence in the resources of the corporation that a bill passed Par- 
liament (1720) allowing holders of the national debt to exchange 
their government securities for the company's stock. Thousands 
took advantage of this permission and the shares of the company 
rose from ,£130 to ^1000. Not only this, but the success of 



SIR ROBERT WALPOLE 423 

the South Sea Company encouraged the wildest speculation even 
for the most absurd purposes. 1 

It was not long before the reaction came. So many fraudulent 
schemes were exposed that public confidence was destroyed in all 
schemes, including the great company, and in one month its shares 
fell from ,£1000 to ,£1 75, while most of the other schemes collapsed. 
Public indignation was great, especially against the ministry of the 
crown and the directors of the South Sea Company. The latter were 
disgraced and their property seized and sold and the proceeds 
awarded to the sufferers. The conduct of the ministers of the 
crown was investigated. One of them was expelled for corruption, 
one committed suicide, one died of apoplexy, and one who was 
acquitted resigned his office and soon afterwards died. 2 

529. Sir Robert Walpole. 1 721.— The fall of the Whig 
ministry brought the opposing faction into power. Fortunately for 
Sir Robert Walpole, the late Chancellor of the Exchequer, he had 
been out of office when the speculation was at its height, and he 
had written against the scheme ; so, though he had accepted 
office before the crash, no one could blame him for the disasters. 
He was believed to be the man needed to meet the emergency, 
and in 1721 he became not only first lord of the treasury (the 
chief man in the cabinet) but also chancellor of the exchequer. 
He was the best financier of his time and one of the best in Eng- 
lish history. He held his post as prime minister for twenty-one 
years, the longest tenure of that office in English annals. 3 He was 
born in 1676 of a good family; he was educated for the church 
at Eton and Cambridge, but "on the death of his elder brother he 

1 Some of the objects for which men seriously ventured their money were : to make 
salt water fresh ; to extract silver from lead ; to import large donkeys from Spain ; and 
even for " an undertaking which shall hereafter be revealed," the projector giving 
no idea of the character of the enterprise, but nevertheless finding many supporters. 

2 There is no doubt that the directors of the company suffered unduly. They 
had been guilty of bribery and had been very unwise in their administration, but 
they had done nothing illegal in their management. 

3 Walpole was nominally out of office for a few days at the time of the death of 
George I (§ 531), but they can hardly be counted, as nothing was done in the 
interval. 



4 2 4 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



succeeded to the family estates, and entered Parliament at the age 
of twenty-four and continued a member until raised to the peerage 
in 1742. He had a remarkably clear head for business, and the 
duties of his office were transacted like those of a banker. He 
had the knack of managing men, and was one of the most skillful 
of political leaders. Like many of the prominent men of his time, 
his private life was immoral, and his conversation was, even for 
that day, unusually gross. He cared little for literature and art, 
and his recreation was fox-hunting. Though accused of enrich- 
ing himself at the public expense, his enemies were unable to find 
proof of their charges, and posterity has acquitted him of this ac- 
cusation. Like others he made use of bribery and bought and 
sold votes and made use of the offices within his-gift to further his 
ends, but not as would seem for his personal benefit. 

530. Walpole's Policy ; Death of George I. 1727. — His favor- 
ite motto was " Let well alone." He has been charged with being 
an enemy to reform, jealous of rivals, and fond of peace at any 
price. 1 The charges are in the main unjust, for he saw clearly 
that peace at home and abroad was essential to real prosperity, 
and rather than disturb that, he was willing to sacrifice even those 
things that he would have been glad to see changed. This fact 
explains his attitude toward Dissenters and his slowness to grant 
them privileges which might awaken hostility in the Tory and 
High Church factions. The proof of the shrewdness of his policies 
is shown by the vast strides in wealth and prosperity made by 
England during his lease of power. While the prosperity was 
ultimately due to natural causes, Walpole by his policy afforded 
a favorable opportunity for these causes to work. He believed 
in colonial expansion and favored the trade of the colonies, grant- 
ing them special trading privileges, and more than once refused to 
allow laws to be passed restricting colonial interests. He was 

1 On one occasion he said, " The most pernicious circumstances in which this 
country can be are those of war ; as we must be losers while it lasts and cannot be 
great gainers when it ends.' 



\VA I. POLE'S POLICY 



425 



lax in enforcing the Navigation Acts (§ 443) which would 
operate to the disadvantage of the colonies. His principle was 
" the greater the prosperity of the colonies, the greater would be 
their demand for English goods ; and that was the true way in 
which to turn colonies into 
a source of wealth to a 
mother country." 

Among the beneficial 
acts of Walpole was a re- 
form of the tariff laws. He 
placed many articles of im- 
port and export on the free 
list and reduced duties, 
especially on the neces- 
saries of life. In one case 
his plan for a reform of 
taxation nearly cost him 
his position. This was the 
famous Excise (or Internal 
Revenue) Bill. Those who 
fancied themselves injured 

by the plan set up such a strong opposition, and created so much 
excitement, that Walpole deemed it wise to withdraw the bill, 
though it could have been passed. He declined to pass a measure 
which might have to be carried out by arms, saying, " I will not 
be the minister to enforce taxes at the expense of blood." 

George I, while on his way to Hanover, was struck down with 
apoplexy and died near Osnabriick, 1727. 

References. — Green, Short History, chap, ix, §§ 7-10; Gardiner, Student's 
History, chaps, xlii-xlv (§ 19); Terry, History, Part IV, chaps, i-iii, p. 877; 
Tout, Advanced History, Book VI, chaps, vi-vii, Book VII, chap, i; Traill, 
Social England, vol. IV, chap, xvi; Adams and Stephens, Select Docu- 
ments, §§ 235-248; Cheyney, Readings, chap, xvii, §§ i-iii; Colby, Selec- 
tions, §§ 83-89; Kendall, Source-Book, §§ 102, 115; Lee, Source- Book, 
§§ 189-195- 




Sir Robert Walpole, afterwards Earl 
of Orford 



CHAPTER XXIV 

GROWTH OF PARLIAMENT AND PARTY GOVERNMENT 

(Continued) 

531. George II (1683-1760). 1727. — George II was forty- 
four at the time of his accession. He was perhaps quite as 
German in his tastes as his father, but was able to speak English 
fluently. He was a brave soldier, he had a good knowledge of 
foreign politics, and understood British affairs fairly well. He was 
businesslike, inclined to be just, but like his family, frequently un- 
reasonable and always obstinate. Immoral in his private life as 
his father had been, he was unlike him in that he had, and justly, 
the highest respect for his wife and for her judgment. 1 " He 
hated his eldest son with the greatest bitterness, much more 
bitterly than his father hated him." He was avaricious and 
niggardly and disliked nothing so much as spending money or 
giving it away. In person he was small and dapper, and while 
not handsome, was far from commonplace in appearance. 

As George I had hated his son it had been needful for Walpole 
also to be opposed to him, so when George II came to the throne 
he had no mind to retain Walpole in office. His first act was 
to offer the position of prime minister to Sir Spencer Compton, 
speaker of the Commons, but his incapacity for the office was so 
clearly shown that before George made his first speech to Parlia- 
ment, through the influence of Queen Caroline, who was fully 
aware of Walpole's ability, Walpole was restored to his post. 

1 His wife was Caroline of Anspach; they were married in 1705. She was 
" alert, sprightly, and keen . . . the impersonation of good sense." How her power 
over him was regarded is shown by a couplet of the time : 

" You may strut, dapper George, but 'twill all be in vain; 
We know 'tis Queen Caroline, not you, who reign." 
426 



REIGN OF GEORGE II 



427 



532. Increasing Power of Walpole. — The new Parliament met 
with a Whig majority in 1728. Selfish as Walpole undoubtedly 
was, he had the right idea of the character of a government for 
Great Britain. Before Walpole's time each member of a cabinet 
administered the affairs of 
his department very much 
as he pleased, and for his 
own interests. Walpole be- 
lieved that as he had the 
responsibility he should 
direct the course of the 
government, especially as 
all looked to him for the 
financial means to carry on 
the business of state. 
Gradually he got rid of 
troublesome ministers, and 
practically ruled alone, his 
companions being men of 
second-rate ability. 

533. Opposition Party. — The opposition party received re- 
cruits from the Tories. Bolingbroke, having obtained permission, 
returned to England (1723) (§ 524), and immediately began 
to organize a new Tory Party supporting the Hanoverian dynasty, 
for he saw that the cause of the Stuarts was lost. He associated 
himself with the old Tories, the discontented Whigs, and later 
with Frederick, Prince cf Wales, thus forming the opposition 
party to Walpole, who was attacked with the greatest vigor both 
by means of the press and also in Parliament. They called 
themselves " Patriots " and " patriot Whigs," claiming for them- 
selves every patriotic virtue. 

534. Walpole's Domestic and Foreign Policies. — Walpole's 
domestic policy was acceptable to the money and substantial 
interests, but his administration of foreign affairs was not popular, 




428 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

though he had acted with extraordinary skill in furthering the 
cause of peace in Europe. Queen Caroline, who had steadily 
used her influence with the king in Walpole's favor, died in 1737. 

Walpole neither cared for literature nor appreciated the value 
of literary support. Bolingbroke, Gay, Swift, Arbuthnot, and 
Pope, all writers of ability, wrote for the opposition and often 
directly and bitterly against Walpole. He also undervalued the 
assistance of young men, calling them " the boys, " and affected 
to despise them. 

535. Spain; War of Jenkins's Ear, 1739; Walpole Resigns, 
1742. — By the Treaty of Utrecht (§ 515) England had been 
restricted to " one ship a year " in trading with the Spanish 
colonies. But by means of various subterfuges this trade was 
increased, and there was also much smuggling. This incensed 
Spain, already angry with England for her retention of Gibraltar. 
Spain not only claimed, but exercised, the right of searching vessels 
in the West Indies for contraband goods. There were also stories 
of great cruelty practiced by Spaniards against Englishmen seized 
for smuggling or other violations of the maritime or custom laws. 
One case brought prominently before the country was that of a 
Captain Jenkins, who, claiming that his ear had been cut off by 
the Spaniards, exhibited the ear in proof of his assertions. 1 
Walpole was forced to declare war against Spain, and the " War of 
Jenkins's ear" (1739) was the result. This conflict was an unsuc- 
cessful one and seriously injured Walpole's prestige. 

When a new Parliament met, it was found that his majority was 
small. He was defeated in a contested election case, and then 
resigned, 1742. He was created Earl of Orford and entered the 
House of Lords. His health failed and he died in 1745. Thus 
closed a long and successful career. He had entered office when 
affairs in England were gloomy ; he left it with England pros- 
perous as she had never been before. 

1 The story of Jenkins was long disbelieved in by many, but documentary evi- 
dence has recently turned up confirming his tale. 



WAR OF THE AUSTRIAN SUCCESSION 429 

536. War of the Austrian Succession. 1 740-1 748. — Mean- 
time the Emperor Charles VI had died (1740), and, according to 
the Pragmatic Sanction, his daughter Maria Theresa was the 
successor to his hereditary dominions. 1 The Elector of Bavaria, 
who had been chosen Emperor as Charles VII, claimed the 
Austrian dominions as a male heir, and was supported in his claim 
by France and Spain. Thus began the War of the Austrian 
Succession (1 740-1 748), carried on not only in Europe, but also in 
the colonies as well. In the American Colonies the war between 
England and France was known as King George's War ( 1 744-1 748). 

537. War with France and Spain ; The Young Pretender, 1745. 
— The real stake at issue in this conflict was colonial and maritime 
supremacy. France, to divert the attention of England, planned 
(1744) an invasion of England in favor of Charles Edward, the son 
of the Pretender, 2 and hence called the Young Pretender. Had 
not a severe storm wrecked the fleet intended to carry the Young 
Pretender, an invasion would have followed. 

Meanwhile Charles Edward gathered together a few followers, 
and with only two ships sailed for Scotland to attempt to win 
over the Highland clans to his cause. He landed with seven 
companions (July 25,. 1745) at Moidart on the west coast. Re- 
ceived at first with coolness, enthusiasm was soon aroused, and a 
small force gathered around him. The English commander in 
Scotland was an incompetent man, and Charles gained a victory 
at Prestonpans (September 21, 1745), which gave him the control 
of Scotland. He proclaimed his father as James VIII of Scot- 
land at Edinburgh, and remained two months in the capital. 

1 Charles VI had been elected emperor of Germany at the death of his brother 
Joseph in 1711, and had succeeded him as Archduke of Austria. He had no son 
and wished his daughter to succeed to his Austrian possessions. No woman had 
held this position, and to insure her succession he issued a document called a 
Pragmatic Sanction, and presented it to the chief powers of Europe to secure their 
suppoit or sanction. England was one of those that signed. 

2 James, the " Old Pretender," was advanced in years, and it was planned that 
his son should act as his regent. Charles Edward was twenty-four years old, and 
very attractive in manners and person. 



43Q 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



538. The Young Pretender in England, 1 745 ; Culloden, 1 746. 
— Disappointed in the failure of the lowland Scots to support 
him, he decided to march into England, an undertaking which 
even his own supporters regarded as foolhardy. In England 
he received little or no support, and on reaching Derby his 
condition became critical, for his soldiers, unaccustomed to cam- 
paigning, were getting weary, and large royalist forces were collect- 
ing to attack him. By the advice of his officers he returned reluc- 
tantly to Scotland. 1 He retired with a dwindling army towards 
Inverness, and at Culloden Moor met with a crushing defeat by 
the much larger royal army under the Duke of Cumberland (April 
16, 1746). Every effort was made to capture Charles Edward, 
but though a reward of ,£30,000 was offered for him, he was not 
betrayed, and after a series of most romantic adventures he 
escaped to France. 

539. Severe Measures in Scotland; End of the Stuarts. — The 
punishment meted out to the Jacobites was severe ; three Scottish 
nobles were executed, and about eighty other persons were put to 
death with all the barbarous customs which, even in the middle of 
the eighteenth century, were regarded as allowable by the upper 
classes, and were witnessed by crowds of the lower classes with a 
vulgar but eager appetite for the horrible. In addition to this, 
very many were transported, and the clans were disarmed and 
forbidden to wear their national costume. 2 Garrisons were stationed 
at various places, and the hereditary jurisdiction of the chiefs was 
abolished. As one result of this policy there were many emigrations. 
Population became sparse in many parts, and the Highlands never 
regained their former condition. 

From this time the fortunes of Charles Edward became worse 
and worse. As a young man he was handsome, affable, brave to 
daring, and was possessed of considerable intelligence ; but, like 

1 It is possible that, had Charles followed his own wishes and pushed on to 
London, which was unprepared to resist him, he might have succeeded in 
gaining for a short time the crown of England. 

2 This restriction was removed at a later period. 



END OF THE STUARTS 43 1 

all his family, he was obstinate. It is said that he acquired the 
habit of drinking to excess during his Scottish campaigns ; however 
that may be, in later life he became a confirmed profligate and 
lost all his friends. He died at Rome in 1 788, leaving no child to 
inherit his claims. 1 His only brother, Henry, entered the Catholic 
priesthood, was made a cardinal, and died 1807. With him the 
direct Stuart line ended. 2 

540. Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. 1748. — Meanwhile the War of 
the Austrian Succession continued. The French were successful 
in the Austrian Netherlands ; but they found the Dutch no easier to 
conquer than in the days of Louis XIV. What success they had 
in Europe was more than balanced by the loss of Cape Breton in 
America, and other colonial possessions, and by their defeats at 
sea. The Spaniards had been plundered in the Pacific by Com- 
modore Anson, a British sailor, who, circumnavigating the globe 
in his voyage, almost repeated the story of Drake, and like Drake, 
was himself rewarded with a title. 

By 1748 the contestants were ready for peace and the Treaty of 
Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen) was signed (October 7), which recognized 
Maria Theresa, and also the Hanoverian succession in England, 
provided that the Pretender should be expelled from France, and 
settled some other minor points of dispute. 

541. Reformation of Calendar. 1752. — In 1 75 1, Frederick, 
Prince of Wales, died, and his son, thirteen years old, afterwards 

1 The times of the Young Pretender are immortalized in Scott's Waverley, and 
other of the Waverley novels, and also in many songs, especially those by Lady 
Nairne. 

2 During the last years of Henry, George III allowed him a pension of ^4000 a 
year. At his death in 1807 Henry left to the English monarch the crown jewels 
which James II had taken with him in his flight from England in 1688. George IV 
erected in St. Peter's, Rome, a fine monument by Canova to the memory of the ex- 
iled Stuarts. Queen Victoria, on a visit to Paris, seeing that the monument to James 
II at St. Germain's was dilapidated, had it renewed at her own expense. She had 
to the last a fondness for her Stuart ancestry. The " legitimate Stuart heir," by the 
strict laws of hereditary descent, is a member of the family of the Dukes of Modena 
(Italy), lineal descendants of Henrietta, daughter of Charles I, who married the 
Duke of Orleans and died in 1670. 



43 2 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



George III, became the heir to the throne. In 1752 the calendar 
was reformed by the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar, known 
as the " New Style," which had already been adopted by most of 
the European nations. The year was made to begin with January 
1st instead of March 25th, and in order to make the reckoning 
conform to the new style eleven days were dropped in the month 
of September, the third of that month being called the 14th. So 
many persons did not understand the need of the change that there 
was considerable excitement and the matter was made a political 
one. Some even cried out, " Give us back our eleven days." 1 

542. William Pitt. — At the retirement of Walpole there was 
no man fitted to take his place, but there was a young man coming 
into public notice, who was shortly to become one of England's 
ablest statesmen ; this was William Pitt, afterwards known as "the 
Great Commoner," though as a matter of fact he was the repre- 
sentative of the influential Whig families rather than of the 
people. William Pitt, born in 1708, was educated at Eton and 
Oxford ; owing to ill health he did not complete his course at the 
university, but spent some time in foreign travel. Entering 
Parliament in 1735 as a member for Old Sarum, 2 he first attracted 
attention by his eloquence. Unfortunately there was no accurate 
system of reporting in those days, but judging by the accounts of 
those who heard him and by the effects produced, it is perhaps 
safe to say that he has never been surpassed in the halls of Par- 
liament. 3 He was tall and handsome in appearance, but haughty 
and affected in his manners, self-confident, and often overbearing. 

1 With the exception of Russia, all civilized nations now employ the Gregorian 
calendar, so called from Pope Gregory XIII (1572-1585), under whose patronage 
the system was devised. 

2 This was what was known as a " family borough," that is, there were so few 
voters that one family was able to control the election. Old Sarum was perhaps 
the most glaring example of the kind; at the time of the Reform Bill of 1832 it is 
said that there were no residents, and two members of Parliament were elected by a 
single property holder. 

3 It was said of his eloquence " that it impressed every hearer with the conviction 
that there was something in him even finer than his words; that the man was in- 
finitely greater than the orator." 



BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL EMPIRE 



433 



On the other hand, he was upright, earnest, patriotic, and in an age 
when few public men hesitated to take bribes or to use public 
position for private advantage, Pitt was stainlessly honest and never 
bettered his private fortune or position at the public expense. 
Ambitious as he was, he never hesitated to oppose the popular 
opinion if he believed 
that it was in error. 

543. Colonial Em- 
pire in India and 
Ameri ca. — The 
Treaty of Aix-la- 
Chapelle (1748) 
(§ 540) left unsettled 
the question of the 
control of the great 
colonial empire 
which was opening 
before the nations of 
Europe. Spain was 
barely able to hold 
what she had gained, 
and the great com- 
petitors for what was 
left were France and England. The fields of action were India 
and America. Ever since the fifteenth century India had been an 
object of desire to European nations, and the English East India 
Company (founded in 1600) had been very successful. It possessed 
trading posts at Fort William (Calcutta), Bombay, Fort St. George 
(Madras), and at other places. The French had not been idle, and 
they also had trading posts at various points, the most important 
of which was Pondicherry, not far from Madras. 

544. French Policy in India ; Clive ; " Black Hole of Calcutta." 
1766. — For many years the rivalry between the French and Eng- 
lish in India had been commercial rivalry alone, but now cir- 




William Pitt, First Earl of Chatham 



434 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



cumstances were such that political rivalry was almost inevitable. 
India had been controlled by the great Mogul empire which had 
lately broken up ; and the number of small states which had been 
formed was the cause of much confusion. 

The French general-commandant, Dupleix, an able and ambitious 

man, believed that 
by setting the na- 
tives against one 
another he could 
gain for France a 
commanding posi- 
tion in India. He 
also saw the possi- 
bility of so training 
native troops that 
large numbers of 
recruits from France 
could be dispensed 
with. As early as 
the war of the Aus- 
trian Succession he 
had begun to carry out his policy and had captured Madras from 
the English, but had been compelled to restore it by the terms 
of peace. But he had met his match in a young Englishman, 
Robert Clive, 1 who was so successful that Dupleix was recalled by 

1 Robert Clive, the son of a bankrupt Shropshire squire, was an unruly lad, and 
when at the age of eighteen he was offered a clerkship in the East India Gompany's 
service in India, he accepted it. His early adventures form a romantic if not 
tragic story. It was not long before he entered the military service, and soon 
showed his ability. He rapidly rose in position, and defeated the French and 
natives in many engagements, some of them against great odds. Invalided to 
England in 1753, he paid his father's debts. Returning to India in 1755, he again 
entered upon a career of great military success. Returning to England, he was a 
member of Parliament (1760-1774). He was created Baron Clive in the Irish 
peerage. He was again in India (1765-1766) and showed himself equally successful 
in civil affairs. He returned to England for the last time in 1766. He was vigor- 
ously attacked by his political enemies and those whose enmity he had incurred in 




Robert, Lord Clive 



THE BRITISH IN INDIA 



435 




India. Worried at these attacks and in poor health, he committed suicide when 
but forty-nine (1774). His conduct in more than one instance was open to question 
accord.ng to modern ideas, but he must be judged in accordance with the standards 



436 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

the French government (1754). In 1756 the Nawab 1 of Bengal, 
angered against the English, attacked Calcutta, which was unpre- 
pared, and captured it. The English were treated without mercy. 
One hundred and forty-six prisoners were confined in a room less 
than twenty feet square on one of the hottest nights (June 20, 
1756) of a tropical climate. The guards were deaf to all en- 
treaties, and the sufferings of the prisoners were terrible. In the 
morning only twenty-three survivors, weak and ghastly, were 
dragged out. "The Black Hole of Calcutta" remains in history 
as an awful example of suffering. 2 Clive hastened to avenge this 
act, retook Calcutta, and later, at the battle of Plassey (June 23, 
1757), inflicted a crushing defeat upon a vastly larger force of 
natives, secured Bengal for England, and so laid the foundation of 
England's empire in the East. 

545. The War in America. 1754-1755- — Hostilities had al- 
ready broken out between France and England in America. 
The French controlled the valley of the St. Lawrence and had 
established a chain of forts and trading-posts in the Mississippi 
valley. One of the most important of their posts was Fort 
Duquesne, at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela 
rivers. Alarmed at the advance of the French, the legislature of 
Virginia sent a small force to reconnoiter and to guard the frontier. 
The colonists under Major George Washington were unsuccessful 
and later were compelled to surrender to superior forces (July 4, 
1754). 3 The next year General Braddock was sent out from 
England as commander-in-chief of the American forces. He 
determined to secure Fort Duquesne, and against the advice of 
Franklin, Washington, and others, attacked the French and was 
defeated, he himself being killed (November 1, 1755). 

of the age in which he lived and the circumstances which surrounded him. " He 
was great in council, great in war, great in his exploits, which were many, and great 
in his faults, which were few." J Nawab Surajah Dowlah (Siraj-ud-Daula). 

2 See Macaulay's famous description in his Essay on Clive. 

3 This skirmish was really the beginning of the Seven Years' War, one of the 
most momentous struggles in its results of any of the wars of modern times. 



THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR 437 

546. The Seven Years' War, i75 6 ~ r 763 i Political Condi- 
tions.— In 1756 war, known as ''The Seven Years' War," was 
declared in Europe. Nominally waged to establish the balance 
of power in Europe, the real causes of the war were commercial 
and colonial (compare § 537). The conflict in Europe was begun 
by Frederic the Great of Prussia invading Saxony, and the French 
capturing Minorca from the English, both in 1756. 

The English cabinet was weak, and owing to the dislike of George 
II, Pitt was kept in the background. For about forty years the 
English and Austrians had been on friendly terms, mainly because 
both nations had reason to fear Prussia. Now, however, Austria, 
believing that she could get more out of France than England, 
made overtures to that country ; while George II, thinking that 
it was safer to have Frederic as a friend than an enemy, joined 
in alliance with him. The result was that Europe became divided 
into two great leagues, — Austria, Russia, France, and Saxony on 
the one side and Prussia and England on the other. 

547. William Pitt and the War. —The early days of the war 
were gloomy for England. News from the Continent, India, and 
America was discouraging. The popular indignation in England was 
great, and a new ministry was formed by the alliance of the Duke 
of Newcastle and William Pitt, whom popular demand forced into 
the cabinet (1757). Pitt became secretary of state and prac- 
tically prime minister, while Newcastle looked after the patronage. 
Pitt's self-confidence stood him in good stead. "I am sure 
that I can save the country," he is reported to have said, " and 
I am sure that no one else can." Never perhaps has there been 
a better example of the power of a strong and able man. He 
had a remarkable faculty for putting the right man in the right 
place, and defeats were soon turned into victories. He paid 
heavy sums of money to Frederic to aid him, " for," he said, 
" America must be conquered in Germany." 

548. Results of Pitt's Policy; Quebec, 1759. —The aid and 
encouragement of Pitt inspired confidence everywhere. Hanover, 



438 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

lost for a time to the French, was recovered at Minden (1759) ; 
Admiral Hawke defeated the French at Quiberon (Brittany) 
(1759); Louisburg (Cape Breton) was destroyed (1758); and 
the French abandoned Fort Duquesne, which was occupied by the 
English and renamed Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh) in honor of William 
Pitt (1758). In 1759 an expedition was sent under General 
Charles Wolfe to capture Quebec. Here the French under the 
Marquis de Montcalm made a brave defense on the Heights of 
Abraham, a battle in which both generals fell (September 13,1 759). 
But England won. With the fall of Montreal (1760) all Canada 
came under British control, and with the exception of New Orleans, 
France had lost everything on the American continent. 

Though Pitt had spent enormous sums of money, the results 
were correspondingly great. He had put England in the fore- 
most place in naval, commercial, and colonial matters, he had re- 
gained Hanover for the Georges, he had strengthened if not 
saved Prussia, and had prevented France from gaining the 
supremacy in Europe. 

549. Death of George II, 1 760 ; George III, 1 738-1820. — 
Just at this time George II died (October 25, 1760) and his grand- 
son George, the eldest son of Frederick, late Prince of Wales, 
succeeded. George III had been born and educated in England 
and delighted to call himself an Englishman. These facts helped 
very much to do away with any feeling against the House of 
Hanover. He was twenty-two years old when he came to the 
throne. He was of good size, and had a florid complexion, was 
tolerably good-looking, and was generally affable in his manners. 
" He was sincerely pious and his morality was strict." He had 
been poorly educated, was only moderately intelligent, and was 
narrow in his views and prejudiced. "His leading characteristic 
was described by himself as firmness, and by those who were 
opposed to him as obstinacy." He was a firm believer in the 
authority of a king, and in order to secure what he believed was 
the royal prerogative, he used all the influence he possessed, em- 




CENTRAL NORTH AMERICA, 1755 
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 




CENTRAL NORTH AMERICA, 1763 
AFTER THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 

(ACCORDING TO PEACE OF PARIS) 



REIGN OF GEORGE III 



439 



ploying even bribery to further his efforts. This struggle he 
pursued without interruption as long as he had mind and strength 
and, by sheer obstinacy and personal good character, to a great 
degree he gained his end. He disliked no one more than Pitt 
and resolved, at the first 
opportunity, to dismiss him. 

550. Resignation of Pitt, 
1 76 1 ; Bute, Prime Minister, 
1762. — Don Carlos of Na- 
ples became king of Spain 
as Charles III in 1759, and 
in 1 761 he joined with the 
Bourbons of France in a 
family compact which bound 
France, Spain, and Italy to 
support each other against 
England. Pitt deemed it 
wise to declare war upon 
Spain, but George had forced 
into the cabinet the Earl of 
Bute, his old tutor, who opposed the plan. Newcastle and others, 
fearing the expense, would not support Pitt, and so he resigned 
(1761). Bute became prime minister in 1762. A more incom- 
petent minister England never had. Till he made his speech as 
prime minister he had never spoken in the House of Commons 
and knew little or nothing of the routine of business. 

551. War with Spain ; Peace of Paris, 1763. — He was com- 
pelled, however, to begin a war against Spain which, owing to 
the preparations that Pitt had made, was successful. The English 
captured Manila in the Philippines, and Havana in Cuba. In 
1763 (February 10) the Peace of Paris was signed which ended 
the Seven Years' War. Canada and Cape Breton were given to 
England, and the Mississippi fixed as the boundary between Louisi- 
ana (Spanish) and the British possessions ; Havana was restored 




George III 



44Q 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



to Spain, who gave Florida in return, and also received back 
Manila. France gave up Minorca, but received Pondicherry 
and other places in India for trading purposes alone, and two 
small islands 1 off Newfoundland to be used only for fishing purposes. 
To the American Colonies the terms of the peace were of incalcu- 
lable importance, as they were now removed from fear of any hostile 
power, except the Indians, and could expand in safety. 2 

552. Grenville's Ministry, 1763; John Wilkes. — The un- 
popular Bute was replaced by George Grenville (1763), brother- 
in-law of Pitt. Grenville, though a fair man of business, was not 
capable of taking in large issues and had quarreled with Pitt mainly 
on account of the vast expenditures Pitt's policy had involved. 
Bute and his cabinet were guilty of at least two very serious 
blunders. The first was the prosecution of John Wilkes for libel. 
Wilkes, a sharp, unscrupulous man who cared for little but himself, 
had succeeded in getting elected a member of Parliament for one 
of the London districts. He published a libel on the king in his 
paper the North Briton, for which he was arrested on a " general 
warrant," 3 sent to the Tower, and his papers seized and exam- 
ined. A member of Parliament can only be arrested for breach 
of the peace or treason ; Wilkes was therefore discharged, and 
suing for damages recovered ^1000. Next the House of Com- 
mons voted Wilkes' paper to be a seditious libel, ordered it to be 
burned by the common hangman, and expelled Wilkes from the 
House. All this made him a popular hero, and the represen- 
tative of a righteous cause, for the action of the government and 
Parliament was regarded as an attack upon the freedom of the 
press, and the liberties of the people- 4 

1 St. Pierre and Miquelon, which she still holds (1913). 

2 The treaty was made without regard to Frederic of Prussia, and he was greatly 
angered at the action ot England in thus deserting him. 

3 A " general warrant " is " a warrant directed against no particular individual 
but against suspected persons generally." 

4 Three times was Wilkes elected and rejected by the House of Commons ; the 
fourth time (1764) he was allowed to take his seat. It is strange that to a man so dis- 
reputable as Wilkes, men should be indebted in so great a degree for such important 



TROUBLES WITH AMERICA 44 1 

553. American Stamp Act. 1765. — The second blunder 
which Grenville made was the passage of the celebrated Stamp 
Act for taxing the American Colonies (1765). The object of this 
act was to help raise funds for troops to defend the Colonies, and 
all the funds were to be spent in America. The tax was to be 
collected by means of stamps placed upon legal documents and 
papers. The colonists bitterly resented this action, for, while 
they conceded the right of Parliament to regulate trade, they 
denied the right to tax without representation. Grenville also 
proposed to enforce the nearly obsolete Navigation Laws. This 
action was perhaps even more hateful to the colonists than the 
Stamp Act, for it would seriously injure their trade. Before, how- 
ever, the news of the action of the Americans reached England, 
Grenville had come under the displeasure of King George, and 
his ministry fell. The new ministry was headed by the Marquis 
of Rockingham. He was not disposed to stir up trouble with 
the Colonies, and so the Stamp Act was repealed, and "general 
warrants" were declared illegal; but the right to tax was affirmed 
at the same time in a Declaratory Act. Again the ministry was 
changed, this time Pitt, who had been created Earl of Chatham, 
being a member and actually prime minister, though not officially, 
so as the Duke of Grafton was the nominal head. 

554. The Townshend Acts. 1767. — In less than a year 
Chatham was compelled to retire on account of ill health, and 
Charles Townshend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, determined 
to tax America, and Parliament passed the Townshend Acts, pro- 
viding for the taxing of glass, red and white lead, paper, tea, and 
some other articles. 1 This action again stirred up the Americans, 
and non-importation agreements were common. Troops were 
sent to Boston, and the " Boston Massacre " (1770) was one result 
of the measure. All taxes were now repealed except that upon 

safe-guards as the illegality of general warrants, the right of the people to elect their 
own representatives, and the publication of parliamentary proceedings. The 
name of Wilkes is perpetuated in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. 
1 Townshend died in 17,67. 



442 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



tea, but the Americans looked upon the question of taxation as a 
matter of principle, and, on this ground, one tax was as bad as fifty. 

555. Lord North, Prime Minister, 1770; The King's Policy 
toward America. — As Lord North, who became prime minister 
in 1770, was in. accord with George's views as to the monarchy, 
George became himself the real prime minister and introduced 
the departmental system which Walpole had discarded. Under 
this system each head of a department looked to the king for 
instructions — not to the cabinet. 

The news of the reception of the tea vessels at Boston, New 
York, Philadelphia, and Charleston forced the government to 
consider some definite plan of action in American affairs, for 
it was clear that either the scheme of taxation would have to 
be abandoned, or enforced by arms. The king and his cabinet 
resolved to force their regulations on the rebellious colonists. As 
the greatest outbreak had occurred at Boston, it was determined 
to teach that city and the colony of Massachusetts a lesson which 
would at the same time intimidate the other Colonies. So Par- 
liament passed the various acts so familiar to Americans — the 
Boston Port Bill, by which that port was closed to all commerce j 
the Transportation Bill, allowing persons accused of certain crimes 
to be transported from Massachusetts for trial elsewhere ; the bill 
practically revoking the charter of Massachusetts ; and the Quar- 
tering Act, allowing soldiers to be quartered upon private families. 
Besides this, to conciliate Canada, the Quebec Act was passed, 
confirming certain privileges of the Canadians, and extending the 
borders of Canada into territory which the Atlantic Colonies 
believed of right belonged to them. 

556. Crisis in American Affairs. — These acts brought on the 
crisis in American affairs. In vain Burke and Chatham, with all 
the power of which they were capable, had urged conciliation 
with America ; it was not until news of the meeting of the Colo- 
nial Congress in America reached England that the ministry began 
to see the necessity of some conciliation. In 1775 Lord North 



WAR WITH AMERICAN COLONIES 



443 



carried a bill through Parliament which provided that such Colo- 
nies as made a grant toward the expenses of the British empire 
should be free from taxation. It was, however, too late for such 
a concession, for the principle for which the Americans contended 
was untouched. 

The treatment of the American question in 1774 and 1775 by 
the British government was extremely ill advised. The king and 
his ministry knew little or nothing of the true conditions in Amer- 
ica, and were unwilling to learn from those who did know them. 
The fact was that colonial affairs were administered, not in the 
interests of the Colonies, but of the British government. This, 
whether clearly understood at the time or not, was the real cause 
of the revolt. The Stamp Act and " taxation without representa- 
tion " were occasions rather than causes of resistance. England 
was unprepared for war, and the difficulties of carrying on cam- 
paigns three thousand miles from the source of supplies were 
apparently ignored. 

557. War with the American Colonies. 1775. — Actual war- 
fare began with the battle of Lexington (April 19, 1775), and on the 
Fourth of July, 1776, the thirteen colonies proclaimed their in- 
dependence of Great Britain. It was a step not anticipated by 
many in America, who had taken up arms simply for the redress 
of grievances, and was opposed by many others who were called 
loyalists ; but the action of the British ministry made independ- 
ence the logical conclusion of events. Seldom has a war of 
such importance been so badly managed on each side. England 
sent out for the most part poor troops, many of them hired from 
the petty German states ; her generals, with one or two excep- 
tions, were incompetent ; 1 and there was no national support at 
home, for many of the best men in England, and a large body 
of the people, were opposed to the war. In America, after the 

1 It is also probable that some of the British generals who were Tories were dis- 
inclined to gain victories for a Whig government. This would explain Howe's in 
activity in Philadelphia(i777-i778), when he could have driven Washington from 
Valley Forge. 



444 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



first year, at least, the militia could not be depended upon for 
steady service in the field ; Congress was niggardly in its sup- 
port of Washington, and continually failed to provide funds for 
the necessary military expenses, being occupied much of its time 
in petty quarrels, factions, and cabals. To the patriotism, skill, 
and marvelous serenity and patience of Washington, more than to 
any other one cause, the final success of the Americans was due, 
though had it not been for the support he received from men like 
Franklin, Robert Morris, General Greene, and others, even he 
might have failed, and this notwithstanding the inestimable aid 
the Americans received by the French alliance (1778). 

558. Progress of the War ; French Alliance with America. — 
During the first year of the war the Americans had rather the 
worst of it. But later, at Saratoga, the British general, Sir John 
Burgoyne, was forced to surrender to the Americans (October 1 7, 
1777) — an event of vast importance. Great as was the effect in 
America, it was perhaps even greater in Europe, where England 
was not loved. France in particular had not forgotten her treat- 
ment in the Seven Years' War, and had already been secretly 
aiding America. Now she openly entered into a treaty with the 
new United States, not so much from sympathy with the young 
republic as from a desire to avenge her own humiliation. The 
young Marquis Lafayette gave his services. Troops were sent to 
America, and the French Admiral D'Estaing sailed to the West 
Indies with a fleet to attack British interests in that quarter. 

559. Overtures to America, 1779; England's Difficult Position. 
— The British ministry now offered nearly everything which the 
Americans had demanded, except independence, but it was too 
late. 1 Meanwhile France had declared war against England (1778) 
and was followed by Spain (1779), and later by Holland (1780); 
in addition Ireland was getting very restless. But this was not all ; 

1 The recognition of the independence of the Colonies was proposed in Parlia- 
ment, and Chatham made his last effort in opposing the motion. While rising to 
reply he fell back in a fit of apoplexy from which he did not recover (1778). fie 
would have granted everything except independence. 



END OF PERSONAL RULE 



445 



Russia, Holland, Denmark, and Sweden in 1770 formed the Armed 
Neutrality League for self-protection and partly with the object of 
putting a stop to the British practice of searching vessels of neutral 
nations. It was this combination of forces against her which pre- 
vented Great Britain from blockading the American ports, and 
from sending more reinforcements to her armies in America. 
Having so many colonial possessions which she was compelled to 
protect or lose, she could not spare men and vessels, and " we see 
a naval war waged from the extended character of the British 
Empire, in all quarters of the globe at once." Had she had 
only her American Colonies to contend with, it would have gone 
hardly with them. In the midst of this condition of affairs the in- 
telligence of the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown (Oc- 
tober 19, 1 781) reached London, and every one felt that the war 
with America was virtually over. 

560. Ireland, 1782; Lord North Resigns. — The condition of 
affairs in India was far from assuring, while the success of the 
Americans stimulated in Ireland a feeling of independence long 
unknown. The Irish Parliament declared its legislative independ- 
ence of the British Parliament (1 782), and under the lead of Henry 
Grattan passed acts looking to the relief of some of the Catholic 
disabilities. 1 Lord North was compelled to acknowledge the 
commercial equality of England and Ireland and to allow the Irish 
free export of their most important commodities. It is not to be 
wondered at that Lord North, the prime minister, felt obliged 
to resign (February, 1782) against the king's wish. 

It is now clear that most of what used to be charged to Lord 
North was really the work of George III. " North was rather the 
agent than the responsible adviser of the king, who himself practi- 
cally directed the policy of the ministry, even on the minutest 
points." The blame which justly rests upon North is that he was 
willing to act as the tool of the king. 

1 All these measures were the work of Protestants, for the Catholics still had no 
voice in Irish affairs. 



446 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



561. End of Personal Rule, 1782; Whig Ministry. — With 
the fall of North's ministry the strictly personal rule and depart- 
mental system of King George came to an end, and from hence- 
forth government by a responsible ministry was assured. The new 
ministry, to the indignation of the king, had to be composed 

of Whigs. Rock- 
ingham became 
prime minister and 
among his asso- 
ciates were Charles 
James Fox and the 
Earl of Shelburne ; 
while E d m u rfd 
Burke, though not 
in the cabinet, oc- 
cupied a subordi- 
nate position in the 
government. The 
new ministry faced 
no easy task. Ire- 
land must be paci- 
fied, economical re- 
form instituted, and 
above all the war 
ended. Legislative 
independence was 
granted to Ireland, 
the old Poynings' Act (§ 217) was modified, and other conciliatory 
measures adopted. Some important bills in the direction of eco- 
nomical and political reform were passed, but the ministry and 
Parliament were half hearted, for their chief desire was to limit 
royal power rather than to reform abuses. 

562. Shelburne Ministry; William Pitt, the Younger, 1782. 
— Before the question of foreign affairs had progressed far, Rock- 




WiLLIAM PiTT, THE YOUNGER 



PEACE WITH AMERICA 



447 



ingham died and Shelburne became prime minister. In his cab- 
inet a new man came into office, whose name was to be indelibly 
fixed in English history — William Pitt, the second son of William 
Pitt, Earl of Chatham. Entering Parliament in 1 781, before he was 
twenty-two, he at once made his mark, and now at twenty-three 
he was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer, and he became 
leader in the House of Commons. 

The first work of the new ministry was to bring about peace. 
All parties agreed on the acknowledgment of the independence 
of America ; the only question was upon what terms. A pre- 
liminary treaty was made in 1782. 

563. Peace with America; United States Acknowledged, 1783. 
— At last, on January 20, 1 783, a treaty of peace was signed at 
Paris between Great Britain and the United States, acknowledging 
the independence of the latter and making the Mississippi the 
western limit, and the southern boundary of Canada and New 
Brunswick, the northern limit, of the new republic. The same day 
were signed at Versailles preliminary treaties with France and 
Spain. 1 Spain regained Minorca and Florida, and restored the 
Bahamas to Great Britain, which retained Gibraltar. 

564. Coalition Ministry, 1783 ; Fox's India Bill. — Before the 
negotiations were concluded Shelburne's ministry had fallen, and 
George III was compelled to assent to what was called the " Coali- 
tion Ministry." 2 The Duke of Portland was the nominal head of 
the cabinet, but it was really directed by Fox and North. 

George III hated this combination and determined to get rid 
of this cabinet. His opportunity came when a bill for the reorgan- 
ization of the government of India, introduced by Fox and passed 
by the Commons, was brought before the Lords. Originally 
simply a trading association, the East India Company had become 
the ruler of large provinces and a vast population. That this 

1 Later, peace was made with Holland, neither party gaining much advantage by 
the war. 

2 " Coalition," the name applied to a union in a government or cabinet of men 
of different political parties or factions. 



448 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

was an unwise condition goes without saying. Fox's bill proposed 
that the national government should assume all authority by means 
of a governing board. But the plan infringed on the prerogatives 
of the crown, as the governing board was at first to be appointed 
by Parliament. The management of the commercial business was 
to be intrusted to a second board appointed by the first. The 
bill was not popular, and George III authorized Lord Temple to 
say to the Lords that " whoever voted for the bill was not only not 
the king's friend, but would be considered by him an enemy." 
This was sufficient, and the Lords by a small majority rejected the 
bill. 1 

The Commons and the ministry resented the king's action and 
the ministry refused to resign. Late at night the king sent for the 
seals of the office and dismissed the ministry, refusing even to see 
them. 

565. First Pitt Ministry, 1783. — The king promptly sent 
for William Pitt and requested him to form a new ministry. Thus 
before he was twenty-five William Pitt was prime minister of Eng- 
land and chancellor of the exchequer (December 19, 1783). 
His appointment " was received in the House of Commons with 
derisive laughter." There was a strong opposition having a major- 
ity of fifty, and embracing with perhaps a single exception every 
good debater and speaker but himself. 2 

So few prominent men were on the side of Pitt in the Commons 
that he was the only member of the cabinet in that body. De- 
feated again and again and called upon to resign, he refused, say- 
ing, as long as he was supported by the king he would neither 
resign nor would a new election be ordered. Sure that he would 
in time gain the confidence of the country, he determined to re- 
tain his post. His judgment was not at fault. Admiration for 
pluck, his father's name, the dislike of the former coalition minis- 

1 This attempt of the king personally to influence a House of Parliament was 
clearly unconstitutional. 

2 No minister would now dare to accept office under such circumstances, but 
would cither decline, or dissolve Parliament and order a new election. 



FIRST PITT MINISTRY 449 

try, the unskillfulness of the management of Fox and his opponents, 
all turned to his advantage, and in March, 1784, he felt his posi- 
tion strong enough to appeal to the country by a new election. 
His judgment was vindicated, and in the new House of Commons 
he had a large majority. 

The ministry, begun amid the jeers of its enemies, lasted seven- 
teen years (1 783-1801), with the single exception of that of Sir 
Robert Walpole (§519) the longest in English history. Pitt 
united in himself more valuable qualities than either his father or 
Walpole. He was an orator second to few, a skillful debater, a 
brilliant financier, and an ardent patriot ; his readiness, his appre- 
hension, and his resources were extraordinary. He never sought 
his own personal financial advantage. " His life was pure ; in an 
age of eager scandal it was beyond reproach." His manners were 
stiff and repellent, and he would unbend only to his intimates. 
Young men, however, found him sympathetic and inspiring, and he 
was fond of them. He had to contend against ill health from his 
earliest years, and, after having had one of the most brilliant po- 
litical careers in history, he died, worn out, when not forty-seven, 
an age at which many have yet to make their name known. 

References. — Green, Short- History, chaps, ix, § 10-x, § 2 ; Gardiner, Stu- 
dents History, chaps, xlv, § 19-xlix ; Terry, History, Part IV, chaps, i (p. 877) 
to v ; Tout, Advanced History, Book VII, chaps, ii-iii, § 31 ; Macaulay, Essays, 
Lord Clive ; William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, and Earl of Chatham ; Traill, 
Social England, vol. V, chaps, xxvii-xxviii ; Adams and Stephens, Select Doc- 
uments, §§ 249-254 ; Cheyney, Readings, chap, xvii, §§ iv-v, chap, xviii, §§ i, 
iii, iv ; Colby, Selections, §§ 90-101 ; Kendall, Source-Book, §§ 104-107 ; 
1 1 7-1 22; Lee, Source-Booh. 



CHAPTER XXV 

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE 
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 

566. Great Inventions ; The Industrial Revolution. — The 

commanding place given England in European affairs by the pol- 
icy of William III was extended by the victories of Marlborough. 
During the long administration of Walpole peaceful occupations 
had developed as never before, and the increase in material pros- 
perity and in population was great. 

Old methods in manufacturing had prevailed up to the reign of 
George III, for until the middle of the century there were, in the 
modern sense, no mills or factories. But about that time four great 
inventions soon changed the whole character of textile manufacture. 
These were Hargreaves' spinning-jenny, a machine by which a 
man could spin eight threads at once instead of one ; Arkwright's 
system of spinning by means of rollers, which operated more rap- 
idly than the spinning-jenny ; Crompton's mule, which combined 
the advantages of both Arkwright's and Hargreaves' machines ; 
and later (about 1784), Cartwright's power loom, which was to 
weaving what the mule and the jenny were to spinning. These 
machines needed greater power than could be applied in a private 
house and more capital than an ordinary man could furnish, and 
so companies were formed and mills with horse or water power 
were built. James Watt patented his steam engine in 1 769, and 
began the manufacture of steam engines in partnership with 
Matthew Boulton ; and in 1785 the first steam engine was used in 
a cotton mill. So began what is well termed the Industrial Revolu- 
tion ; or " the adoption of machinery and artificial power, the use 
of a vastly greater amount of capital, and the collection of scat- 
tered laborers into great, strictly regulated establishments." 

45° 



THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 45 I 

567. Iron and Coal; Movement of Population. — But the de- 
velopment of manufacture was accompanied by other economic 
changes. In 1760 John Roebuck discovered that iron could be 
smelted with mineral coal as well as by the aid of charcoal. The 
result was a vast increase in mining, in the manufacture of iron, 
and improvements in all branches of the trade. 

A striking result of the change in commerce and manufacture 
was the change in the movement of population. Liverpool, little 
more than a village at the beginning of the century, became a 
great port, especially for the American trade ; Lancashire and 
Yorkshire, hitherto almost exclusively agricultural, became the seat 
of great mills, 1 and mining and smelting operations were carried 
on where formerly sheep and cattle grazed quietly or the farmer 
harvested his grain and other crops. 

568. Transportation; Roads; Canals. — But for the satisfactory 
development of material wealth and prosperity better means of 
transportation were needed. Up to the middle of the century the 
roads were generally little more than track ways, deep with mud 
in the winter, and dusty and full of ruts in the summer. Traveling 
was slow and dangerous. " The flying machine " or fast coach 
was three days making the journey between London and Sheffield, 
a distance of 160 miles. The necessity for better roads was so 
evident that before the end of the century great improvements 
were made, and turnpikes were introduced where tolls were re- 
quired which were applied to keeping the roads in good order. 
This not only facilitated the transportation of goods, but also of 
travelers, and correspondingly improved the postal service. But 
even on good roads the carriage of heavy goods was difficult and ex- 
pensive, and therefore attention was turned to the improvement 
of the rivers and the building of canals. To such an extent was 
this carried out that between 1758 and 1803 there were constructed 
in Great Britain about three thousand miles of canals. In the 

1 This was largely due to the existence of many streams which furnished water 
power. 



452 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



colliery districts still another method of facilitating the transport 
of heavy commodities such as coal and iron was devised — that 
of laying rails, first of wood, then of iron, upon which wagons bear- 
ing heavy loads could run with ease. 

569. Greater Liberty of Action. — Down well into the middle 
of the century the medieval idea that it was the province of the 
government to regulate all the economic life of the people had 
continued to find acceptance. But in the latter part of the cen- 
tury the view gained more and more adherents that " men had a 
right to be left free to do as they chose, so far as such freedom 
was practicable." This view was greatly fostered by the publica- 
tion (1776) of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, still one of the 
greatest works on political economy. 

570. Agriculture ; Land Inclosure Acts. — Great changes also 
took place in agriculture. Small farms became less profitable, and 
large farms, worked on less unscientific principles, grew in number. 
Up to the middle of the century much land remained common, 
that is, after crops were harvested the villagers had the right to 
turn their cattle on it. But early in the reign of George III a 
number of inclosure acts lessened greatly the amount of this com- 
mon land, both pasture and arable. This legislation was hard on 
the poor, for it tended to cause land more and more to fall into 
the hands of the large holders. The number of laborers increased 
and at the same time the number of paupers. The system of 
Poor Laws dating from the time of Elizabeth, bad in her day, was 
worse under the changed circumstances, so that, while the wealthy 
and middle classes were steadily bettering their condition, that of 
the agricultural laboring class was growing worse. Their condition 
was intensified by the system of corn laws (first passed in 1773), 
which restricted the importation of grain into England. 

571. Religious Thought and Practice. — But it was not only in 
commercial and material matters that great changes occurred. 
They were as marked in the field of religious thought and practice. 
There were many skeptics. The High Churchism of the reign of 



THE WESLEYAN MOVEMENT 453 

Queen Anne and the zeal of the Dissenters had given place to a 
cool, philosophic view of religion that laid great stress on reason 
and external morality rather than on doctrine or on emotional ex- 
pression. A large number of influential men disbelieved in Chris- 
tianity and were called Deists. It is probable, though there were 
many individual exceptions, that the general spiritual condition of 
England had never sunk lower than in the first twenty-five or thirty 
years of the eighteenth century. 

572. Wesleyan Movement. 1730. — But a change came. 
About 1 730 a band of young Oxford students formed a small so- 
ciety for the purpose of mutual improvement, for Bible and reli- 
gious study, and for practicing works of charity and benevolence. 
They were in derision called by their fellow-students " Methodists." 
The leading spirit in this band was John Wesley ; with him were 
associated his brother, Charles Wesley, and later George White- 
field. John Wesley is one of the great men of history and his 
influence has been of surpassing power. " He was a man who 
had made religion the single aim and object of his life, who was 
prepared to encounter for it every form of danger, discomfort, and 
obloquy ; who devoted exclusively to it an energy of will and a 
power of intellect that in worldly professions might have raised him 
to the highest positions of honor and wealth." Whitefield was un- 
surpassed as an eloquent preacher, and after 1739 the Methodist 
leaders " went about the country preaching extempore, with the 
most intense fervor of language and gesture, and usually with a 
complete disregard of the ordinary methods of the preachers of 
the day." 

573. Results of the Wesleyan Movement. — The effect of this 
preaching can hardly be described ; thousands were moved to 
a reformed and a religious life. It was natural that the clergy 
of the Established Church should be shocked and should refuse 
to allow such enthusiasts to occupy their pulpits. As a result the 
preachers took to speaking in the open air ; next, as a matter 
of necessity, chapels were built to accommodate the adherents of 



454 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



the new preachers. A still further consequence was the organi- 
zation of the converts into a new body, which ultimately became 
known as the Methodists or Wesleyans. Wesley always refused to 
withdraw from the Church of England, but after his death, in 1791, 
the Wesleyans became a separate body both in name and in fact. 
The importance of the Wesleyan movement lies not only in 
strictly religious history, but in the effect it had upon the popula- 
tion of Great Britain. Addressed largely to the lower classes, 
it had a lasting influence upon them. It tended to call attention 
to the importance of the individual ; it placed a life of new 
possibilities before him, raised his self-respect, and, moreover, 
gave him a voice in a powerful organization. The influence of 
the movement on the Church of England and other religious 
bodies was by no means small, and perhaps no other movement 
of the century was more far-reaching in its effects. 

574. Growth of Religious Toleration ; Philanthropic Move- 
ments. — Other characteristics of the century were the decline in 
the spirit of persecution, and the increase in religious toleration. 1 
Some of the disabilities of the Catholics were removed, but the 
removal of even these ultimately led to serious riots both in Scot- 
land and England (Lord George Gordon Riots, 1780). 

Another feature of the age was the rise of philanthropic move- 
ments, prominent among which was the effort of John Howard 
(1726-1790) to improve the condition of the prisons, which 
were but a trifle better than the scandalous ones of the seven- 
teenth century. Another was the effort for the abolition of the 
slave trade, in which, in the later years of the century, Thomas 
Clarkson (1 760-1 846) and William Wilberforce (1 759-1833) 
took such an unselfish and earnest part. 

575. Dress and Social Customs. — The increase in wealth 
among the commercial and trading classes, the improvement in 
means of communication and transportation, and the doctrine 

1 Exception must be made in the case of Catholics, for the feeling against 
them was still very strong. 



SOCIAL CHANGES 



455 



of equality spread abroad by the philosophers, especially by 
Rousseau of France, all tended toward a greater simplicity in 
dress, manners, and social customs. The flowing wig, the knee 
breeches, long waistcoats, gay colored clothing among men, and 
swords as ornaments, gradually went out of fashion. Among 
women, also, customs and man- 
ners became more simple. 

576. Fashionable Life ; Gam- 
bling ; Duelling. — The most 
fashionable vice of the day was 
gambling. Gambling naturally 
led to the creation of large 
debts — " debts of honor " as 
they were called — entailing 
great loss and often bankruptcy 
and ruin upon the loser and his 
family. Besides this, disputes 
frequently arose which, accord- 
ing to the ideas of that day, 
could only be settled by the 
sword or pistol. And, indeed, 
duelling was a common method 
of settling any question where a man's " honor " was supposed to 
be involved. 

Drinking to excess continued to be common. One, two, or 
even three bottles of port wine at dinner was not unusual, and 
drunkenness in public was not especially commented upon. 

The moral life of George III set a good example, and the effect 
of the religious revival was great ; so that by the close of the 
century much that had been treated as venial became disreputable 
among the greater part of the community. 

577. Evil Effects of the Industrial Revolution. — The Indus- 
trial Revolution, as was inevitable, brought for the time being 
much suffering to the poorer classes. The spinners and weavers, 




An Eighteenth Century London- 
Tavern 



456 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 




and others who had worked at their homes, often from age or 
from other causes were unfitted to work in the mills, and hence 
were deprived of their means of living, for they were unable to 
compete with the large manufacturers. The smaller establish- 
ments where handwork 
was employed were 
also soon done away 
with by the new power 
machinery or factory 
system, as it is called. 
But with the improve- 
ments in manufactur- 
ing came the tendency 
to treat the workers 
rather as machines 
than as human beings. Long hours of labor, dark and ill-ventilated 
workrooms, and unhealthful and dirty dwellings were their usual 
lot. Women and children labored as long as the men, — children 
of nine years often working fifteen or more hours a day. There 
were no factory or labor laws to regulate or restrict, and as the 
workers had no vote, and were forbidden by law to form trade 
unions, their case was indeed hard. 

References. — Traill, Social England, chaps, xx-xxi; Cheyney, Industrial 
and Social History, chaps, vii-viii (in part) ; Gardiner, Student's History, 
chap. 1, §§ 22-31; Tout, Advanced History, Book VII, chap, vi; Cheyney, 
Readings, chap, xviii, § ii; Colby, Selections, §§ 91, 93, IOO, 102, 106; 
Kendall, Source-Book, §§ 110-114, 116. 



A Stagecoach of the Late Eighteenth 
Century 



CHAPTER XXVI 

EFFORTS FOR REFORM; FRENCH REVOLUTION; 
NAPOLEONIC WARS 

578. Pitt and Reform ; India Bill (1784) ; Warren Hastings. 
— The task presented before the younger Pitt was one of extreme 
difficulty. Personally he was a man of peace, and earnest for 
political and social reform, but circumstances were such that he 
is chiefly remembered as a great war minister. He warmly sup- 
ported the efforts of Wilberforce for the abolition of the slave 
trade, was sincerely desirous to better the condition of Ireland, 
and to reform the administration of India. The last matter 
occupied his attention first, and in 1784 he carried his India Bill. 
This provided for a Board of Control, appointed by the govern- 
ment, the president of the board to be a cabinet minister. Po- 
litical matters came under its duties, while all commercial matters 
were to be managed by the Company, which also appointed the 
commander-in-chief and the governor-general, subject to the veto 
of the government ; other political offices were to be filled by 
the Board of Control. This plan worked so well that it lasted 
until 1858. The first governor under this arrangement was 
Warren Hastings. 1 His administration was highly successful, but 
on his return (1785) he was impeached on a charge of extortion, 
oppression, and cruelty. His famous trial, begun in 17S8 and 
taken part in by Fox, Burke, and Sheridan, was to a very great 
extent political; it lasted until 1795, when he was acquitted. 2 
Though he had been severe and arbitrary, and he had used 
methods not allowed in civilized countries, he was not guilty of 
the grave charges made against him. 

1 Hastings had been govenor general since 1773. 

2 It is said that the trial cost Hastings ,£79,000, and almost ruined him. 

457 



458 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

579. Pitt and Finances. — In financial methods Pitt was, in 
general, a follower of Adam Smith. He reduced the customs 
duties on many articles so much that smuggling became unprofit- 
able and at the same time legitimate trade was encouraged ; he 
made a treaty with France which greatly increased the com- 
merce between the two countries and nearly brought about free 
trade ; he reduced expenditures and introduced efficiency into 
the administration of public business ; he did away as much as 
possible with the opportunities for bribery and abolished many 
sinecure offices ; and he devised plans for paying off the national 
debt which were a credit to his character. 

580. Foreign Affairs; The Regency Bill. 1 788-1 789. — Pitt 
gained the friendliness of Prussia, decreased the influence of 
France in Holland, and in 1788 formed a Triple Alliance with 
Prussia and Holland " to maintain their common interests, and for 
their mutual defense and guarantee against every hostile attack." 

An attack of insanity befell King George in 1788, and the ques- 
tion of a regency had to be settled ; Pitt declared that in such a 
case Parliament should decide, and referred to the example of 
Henry VI (§ 202). Charles James Fox and his friends claimed 
that, by virtue of his position as heir, the Prince of Wales should 
be regent. Pitt finally brought in a bill providing for a regency 
by the Prince of Wales, but under strict conditions. Before the 
bill could get through Parliament the king recovered, but Pitt's 
position was greatly strengthened by the stand he had taken. 

581. The French Revolution. 1789. — In 1789 the French 
Revolution, the most stirring event in the eighteenth century, 
broke out. The revolution was the natural result of the policy 
of Louis XIV, followed by the corrupt reign of Louis XV. At 
first the French Revolution was welcomed by many in England as 
a step forward in the cause of liberty; but in 1790 Burke, who 
viewed the matter with very different eyes, published his Reflec- 
tions on the French Revolution, in which, with all his eloquence, 
he warned his countrymen against the radicalism and dangerous 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 



459 



doctrines of the French revolutionists. His book had an enor- 
mous sale and greatly influenced public opinion, and more so as 
the excesses of the French indicated the fulfillment of his worst 
forebodings. 

Pitt, at first inclined to sympathize with the efforts in France 
after liberty, followed a policy of absolute neutrality. Later he 
came gradually to Burke's opinion, and his fear of what might 
take place, not only on the Continent but also in England, influ- 
enced greatly his administration of public affairs. 

582. France a Republic, 1792; Execution of Louis XVI; War 
with France. 1 793. — France was proclaimed a Republic in 

1792 (September 21), and late in the year roused all the sov- 
ereigns of Europe against her by passing two decrees. "The 
first of these decrees promised assistance to all nations that should 
revolt against their governments ; while the second compelled all 
territories occupied by the French to accept the new French in- 
stitutions." * These decrees were speedily followed by the execu- 
tion of Louis XVI (January 21, 1793), and the Continent and 
England were horrified. A few days later France declared war 
against England and Holland. From this time for nearly twenty- 
two years England was almost continually at war with France. . 

Pitt's policy was to give money to the European sovereigns to 
fight the battles rather than to contribute many men to their 
armies. 2 The administration of the navy was superior to that of 
the army, and some of the greatest naval victories of England 
took place during this period. 

583. The "New Toryism." — In the stress of the French revo- 
lutionary times Pitt dropped all efforts at reform and devoted his 
attention to finance, to the war, and, perforce, to the condition of 

1 The new Republic had already seized Nice and Savoy, the Low Countries, 
and the country along the Rhine, so this was no idle threat. 

2 This is called to subsidize. To such a large extent was this done that from 

1793 to 1805 more than ,£9,000,000 were paid by Great Britain to European states 
in support of the struggle against France and Napoleon, and, in addition, loans of 
about ,£6, 200,000 were made. 



460 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

Ireland. From this time also Pitt became the leader of a new 
political combination which has been called the " New Toryism." 
The principles of this body were defense of things as they are ; 
opposition to all changes ; and security for the rights of property, 
— all these being opposed to the principles enunciated by the 
French revolutionists. Many of the Whigs joined the party, which 
became for about thirty years the ruling one in Great Britain. 

584. The Coalition against France, 1 793 ; Bonaparte. — Eng- 
land, having already helped Austria and Prussia with money, joined 
in a coalition with Austria, Prussia, Spain, and Holland (1793). 
Notwithstanding this great array against them, the French were 
successful, not only in protecting themselves, but also in extend- 
ing their boundaries. Holland was captured (1795) and made 
into the Batavian Republic ; Prussia, Spain, and some of the 
smaller states made a treaty with France, leaving England, Austria, 
and Sardinia to continue the struggle. 

A new general now appeared in France, Napoleon Bonaparte, 
who in 1797 drove the Austrians out of Italy, and forced Austria to 
make a peace. This left England alone against France. 

585. British Success at Sea; Bonaparte's Plans to crush 
England. — At sea, however, England had been successful, for 
in 1795 the Cape of Good Hope and Ceylon had been taken from 
the Dutch ; an attempt of the French to get a foothold in Great 
Britain had proved a failure; in 1797 Admiral Jervis and Com- 
modore Nelson had defeated a Spanish fleet off Cape St. Vin- 
cent; and the Dutch fleet was defeated off Camperdown by 
Admiral Duncan. 

Pitt was desirous of making peace, but the French, believing 
that England was exhausted, demanded terms which were im- 
possible for the English to accept. 

Bonaparte, who was practically the master of France, resolved 
to cripple England by destroying her trade with India. To do 
this he set out with an army and fleet for Egypt, the key to the 
East. He was successful in gaining Eygpt, but the English fleet 



WARS OF NAPOLEON 



461 



under Nelson defeated the French at the battle of the Nile 
(August 1, 1798), and the advance of the French in Syria was 
checked at St. Jean d'Acre by Sir Sidney Smith (1799). Napo- 
leon's plans had failed. 

586. Second Coalition against 
France, 1799; French Suc- 
cesses. — Meantime a new coali- 
tion of England, Austria, and 
Russia was formed, and France 
seemed in a critical condition. 
But Napoleon, leaving his army 
in Egypt, returned to France, 
overthrew the weak government 
of the Directory, which had been 
formed in Paris, caused himself 
to be appointed First Consul, 
with practically autocratic powers, 
and set himself to regain the 
power and prestige of France. 
The strong government of Napo- 
leon was welcomed by the majority of the people. Through his 
wonderful energy and ability, Napoleon won back Italy by a 
series of brilliant victories, induced Russia to leave the coali- 
tion, and forced Austria to make a humiliating peace (1801). 

Russia now formed an armed neutrality agreement between 
the northern powers, including herself, which declined to allow 
Great Britain to search neutral vessels for enemies' goods. This 
action England regarded as hostile, and a fleet under Admiral 
Parker and Nelson was dispatched to the Baltic. The Danish 
fleet was defeated off Copenhagen, and England gained control of 
the Baltic. England was supreme at sea as Napoleon was on land. 

587. Restrictive Laws; Ireland. — Meantime domestic affairs 
were claiming the serious attention of the British government. 
Through fear of revolutionary movements, stringent legislation had 




Napoleon Bonaparte 
After the portrait by Paul Delaroche 



462 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

been passed in England, the most repressive of which was the 
suspension (1794) of the Habeas Corpus Act. 1 In this legisla- 
tion Pitt was supported by the great majority of the people. 

The Irish Parliament (§ 560) was wholly Protestant and the 
large Catholic population was unrepresented. Some of the 
Protestants, led by Henry Grattan, with whom Pitt sympathized, 
wished to have Catholics sit in the Parliament; others were bit- 
terly opposed, because they believed that Protestant ascendancy 
would be lost. The Protestants were divided, and the English 
government by means of influence and bribery controlled the 
Parliament. 

588. " United Irishmen ; " " Orangemen.' 1 — Stirred up as Irish- 
men had been by the American Revolution, the French Revolu- 
tion had a great effect upon them. A society to work for 
Catholic emancipation, parliamentary and other reforms was 
organized and called the "United Irishmen." 2 This movement 
soon resulted in a purpose to gain the complete independence of 
the island. On the other side, the extreme Protestants formed an 
organization first called " Orange Lodges," and then the " Orange- 
men." 3 Between these two extremes was the great body of the 
people. In 1793 a Catholic Relief Bill was passed by which 
Catholics were given the right to vote for members of Parliament, 
but were not allowed to be elected to Parliament — a measure 
that could do but little good. 

589. France and Ireland, 1796; Irish Rebellion, 1798. — 
That the United Irishmen should make overtures to France, and 
that France should see in Ireland a chance to injure England, was 
a legitimate result of the state of affairs. In 1796, after the news 
of the coalition between England, Austria, and Prussia, the French 
Directory prepared to invade Ireland with 25,000 men under 

1 Others were the Alien Bill, requiring all foreigners to state their business and to 
be registered ; the Traitorous Correspondence Bill, extending and defining the law 
of treason ; and the Seditious Meetings Bill. 

2 So called because at first it was the purpose to unite both Catholics and Prot- 
estants in the movement. 3 So called after William of Orange. 



REBELLION IN IRELAND 



463 



General Hoche. The expedition started and some vessels reached 
Bantry Bay, but owing to severe storms the attempt was a failure. 
Troubles arose in the north of Ireland between the Orangemen 
and Catholics, and the latter were severely treated by the govern- 




Sackville Street, Dublin, in the Middle of the Nineteenth Century 



ment troops, torture even being used to discover where arms were 
concealed. 

In 1 798 there was actual rebellion, and for some time a reign 
of terror existed in the island. The Protestant victors inflicted 
upon the insurgents atrocities too terrible to describe. 

590. The Union of England and Ireland. 1800. — Pitt now 
came to the conclusion that the only way to keep the peace was 
to unite Ireland and England under one government. But by 
the agreement of 1782 this could not be done unless the Irish 
Parliament was willing to vote its own dissolution. The means 
taken to accomplish this did not seem out of the way in the 
eighteenth century. There were in Ireland, as in England, 
boroughs returning members to Parliament which were controlled 



464 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



by some rich man or noble. 1 Therefore, to gain a majority in 
the Parliament, the English government bought seats of the own- 
ers, bestowed titles of nobility where it was thought they would 
be useful, gave pensions, and, to some extent, used direct bribery. 
By this means the Irish Parliament in 1800 was brought to 
approve of a scheme of union which was accepted by the Eng- 
lish Parliament and received the royal approval (August 2, 1800). 

591. Terms of the Irish Union; Resignation of Pitt, 1801. — 
The union went into effect on January 1, 1801. The Irish 
Parliament was abolished and the people of Ireland were to 
be represented in the British Parliament by 100 members in the 
House of Commons, and by thirty-two Irish representative peers 2 
in the Lords. These were chosen for life by the body of the Irish 
nobles. The crown, moreover, was not to increase the number of 
Irish peers by the creation of new peerages. There was to be free- 
dom of trade between Great Britain and Ireland, but the law 
courts and the executive departments of government were separate. 

The Catholics took no active part in these arrangements and 
their interests were not directly looked after. 3 It was, however, 
understood that something would be done for them. Pitt intended 
to give them representation in Parliament and other rights, and 
immediately after the Act of Union took steps in this direction. 
That nothing was done was due to the bigotry and obstinacy of 
George III, who held that to grant privileges to Catholics would 
violate his coronation oath. When Pitt found that persistence 
was useless, he resigned his post as prime minister (March, 1801). 
Had he been successful in carrying his measures, much, if not all, 
of the trouble of succeeding years would doubtless have been 

1 It is stated that out of 300 members of the Irish House 188 were nominated by 
88 individuals in boroughs where nomination meant election. 

2 The number was made up by four Irish Episcopal bishops and twenty-eight 
lay peers. 

3 There can be little doubt that had the Catholics united against the Union it 
could not have been carried. Some advocated, some opposed, more were neutral. 
They believed they had less to fear from an imperial Parliament than from an 
Irish Protestant one. 



UNION OF ENGLAND AND IRELAND 



465 




The Union Jack after the 
Union with Ireland 



avoided, and the Irish question might have had a peaceful solu- 
tion more than a century ago. 

A new great seal and royal banner were adopted ; the Irish 
cross was added to the Union Jack ; the words King of France 
were dropped from the royal title, which became King of the 
United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
Ireland. 1 

592. Peace of Amiens. 1802. — 
The battle of Copenhagen withdrew 
Denmark from the armed neutrality, 
the Czar Paul was assassinated (1801), 
and his successor, Alexander I, made 
peace with England, so as England 
was supreme at sea there was little to fight about. A peace was 
therefore concluded between France, England, Spain, and Holland 
by the Treaty of Amiens (March, 1802). England retained Cey- 
lon, but otherwise gained little by the war so far as territory was 
concerned. 

593. Schemes of Bonaparte ; War Renewed, 1803. — Bonaparte 
after the Treaty of Amiens apparently attempted to regain for 
France the colonial empire she had lost in 1763 (§ 551). With 
this in view he sent an expedition to Haiti to make it a base for 
operations in the West ; he planned an American colonial empire 
in Louisiana, demanding of Spain that she should transfer that ter- 
ritory to France, which was done secretly ; he sent an expedition 
to India to see what could be accomplished there ; and he even 
seems to have had designs on Australia. All these plans came to 
naught. The failure of the Haiti expedition was fatal to his 
Louisiana project, and rather than let that territory fall into the 
hands of England, as, from her control of the sea, it was practically 
sure to do, he sold it to the United States (1803). 

By the Treaty of Amiens the island of Malta was to be restored to 



1 The population of Ireland in 1801 was 4,500,000 and that of Great Britain 
10,500,000; in 1911 that of Ireland was 4,381,951 and of Great Britain 40,834,714. 



466 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

the Knights of St. John, its former owners ; but England, fearful 
that Bonaparte might make it a base for future operations against 
Egypt, proposed to hold it for ten years, and then restore it to 
the Knights. Bonaparte made this a pretext to declare war against 
England, and several thousand British citizens who were visiting 
France were seized because of an attack by the English on some 
French shipping and were put in prison. 1 In little more than a 
year, therefore, after the Treaty of Amiens, war began again 
(May, 1803). 

594. Justification of the War. — The war lasted until 18 14. 
How far it was justified, even on general principles of military and 
political expediency, has been with many a matter of question. 
One now can scarcely doubt that the English course was unwise ; 
a steady policy of neutrality and peace would have been far better 
for England in every way, and would at least have been justifiable 
on her part. The war which followed brought upon her great 
losses and heavy burdens. The main object of the war was 
undoubtedly to maintain the balance of power in Europe, and, 
nominally, to protect the liberties of Europe against the encroach- 
ments of a usurper — Napoleon Bonaparte. That the people on 
the Continent did not feel that there was likely to be any special 
addition to their burdens should the French despot succeed, is 
evident from the comparative apathy with which they accepted 
his rule whenever they came under it. 

In Great Britain the whole nation was united against Napoleon, 
and when an invasion seemed imminent, 300,000 volunteers 
promptly offered themselves to protect their country. Still, had 
it not been for the twenty miles of sea between Dover and Calais, 
it might have gone hard with Great Britain. While there is no 
reason to suppose that Napoleon could ever have really con- 
quered England, he might have been able to inflict upon her 
terrible losses. 

1 The number is said to have been as high as 12,000, none of whom were allowed 
to return to England. 



PITT FORMS COALITION 467 

595. Bonaparte's Further Schemes. — Meantime Bonaparte 
was collecting a large army at Boulogne for the invasion of Eng- 
land and preparing a fleet to carry his army across the Channel. 
He stirred up an attempt at rebellion in Ireland under Robert 
Emmet, which only resulted in a riot at Dublin. Emmet was 
taken and hanged. An attempt to injure the English power in 
India by inciting the natives to rebellion and attack was fairly suc- 
cessful, especially among the Mahrattas. But the English were 
able, not only to overcome all resistance, but also to increase the 
territory under English rule and influence. 

596. Pitt again Prime Minister. 1804. — The need of a 
strong man at the helm was clear. Addington resigned (1804), 
and Pitt became for the second time prime minister, though his 
health was insufficient to stand such a heavy strain. Vigor was 
soon imparted to the cabinet, and a new coalition was formed 
against Bonaparte, composed of Russia, Austria, and Sweden with 
England. 

597. Napoleon Emperor, 1804; French Victories of Ulm and 
Austerlitz, 1805. — Napoleon, who had himself created Emperor 
(September 2, 1804), aware of the hostile attitude of Austria and 
Russia and of the coalition which Pitt had formed, determined to 
crush Austria before she had time to unite with Russia. Breaking 
up his great camp at Boulogne, he transferred his army with 
amazing rapidity to Germany, forced an Austrian army at Ulm 
to capitulate (October 19, 1805), and hastened to meet another 
army which was composed of Austrians and Russians. This he 
did at Austerlitz, a battle which was one of his greatest victories 
(December 2, 1805). 

598. Trafalgar, 1805; French Success, 1805-1807. — Nelson, 
who had recently returned from an expedition to the West Indies, 
offered his services for an attack upon the French and Spanish 
fleets. They were accepted, and on the 21st of October, 1805, 
he met the enemy off Cape Trafalgar, not far from Gibraltar, 
and won the sea fight of Trafalgar, perhaps the most noted naval 



468 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



victory in British annals. Nelson himself was mortally wounded 
in the action, but lived to know of his great victory. 1 This defeat 
destroyed the French hopes of naval supremacy, and removed 
from the English all fear of an invasion. 

By his victories of Ulm and Austerlitz, Napoleon was able to 

dictate terms to Austria in the 
Treaty of Pressburg. From this 
time the ambition of Napoleon 
knew no limits, and he deter- 
mined to be the dictator and 
autocrat of Europe. He set up 
dependent kingdoms around 
France, putting on the thrones 
members of his own family, or 
uniting small states in confedera- 
tions which would be subser- 
vient to his will, a policy which 
by breaking national tradition 
tended to unite all Europe 
against him. In various cam- 
paigns he forced Prussia to make peace (1806), and also Russia 
(1807). He was master of the Continent; England alone with- 
stood him, and by her command of the seas continually menaced 
his power. 

599. Death of Pitt; "Ministry of All the Talents," 1806. 
— England's great minister, William Pitt, worn out by ill health 
and anxiety, died (January 23, 1806), having been in office less 
than two years. He was succeeded by a combination ministry, 
which on account of its character was called the " Ministry of All 
the Talents," in which Charles James Fox was secretary of state. 
Fox, though a former admirer of Napoleon, and favoring peace, 
had to yield to the war spirit, but, before he could accomplish 

1 It was at the beginning of this conflict that Nelson hoisted his famous signal, 
" England expects every man to do his duty." 




Lord Nelson 



NAPOLEON ATTACKS ENGLAND'S COMMERCE 469 

much, he died in September, 1806, the last thing he did being to 
pledge the government to pass an act abolishing the slave trade. 
This was done in the next year (1807). 

600. Catholic Relief Bill Fails; Ministry Resign, 1807. — By 
the Act of Union the English and Irish armies had been made 
one, and the privileges of the Irish Catholics to hold offices 
as high as that of colonel had been granted. It was the desire 
of the ministry to open all positions in the army and navy to 
Catholics and Dissenters, and a bill to this effect had been 
prepared ; but George III refused his sanction, and the ministry 
gave way, but recorded their approval of such a bill and their 
right to advise the king at any time in regard to it. The king 
then demanded that they should agree not to advise him at any 
time in the future, but they refused and then resigned. After 
the peace between Russia and Napoleon, a naval expedition was 
sent to Denmark, though it was a neutral state, and it was suc- 
cessful in capturing the Danish fleet and in securing the small 
island of Heligoland 1 at the mouth of the river Elbe (1807). 

601. Berlin and Milan Decrees; Orders in Council, 1806-1807. 
— Napoleon resolved to attack England through her commerce. 
As he controlled the greater part of Europe he could inflict great 
damage on her commercial supremacy by shutting out her goods. 
This policy already employed was extended by his Berlin Decree 
(May 19, 1806), in which he declared that the British Isles were 
in a state of blockade, and that any ship, no matter of what 
country, which attempted to enter them would be seized. This 
was called the Continental System. Great Britain replied to this 
threat by her Orders in Council (January 7, 1807), in which she 
declared the ports of France and her allies blockaded, and also 
required vessels of neutral nations to call at an English port and 
get leave to enter any blockaded port. 

England, finding that Napoleon was putting his Decree in force, 

1 This little island was held by the British until 1890, when it was transferred to 
Germany for certain concessions in South Africa. 



47Q 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



issued a second set of Orders in Council more stringent than the 
first. To this Napoleon replied by his Milan Decrees (Novem- 
ber 23, December 17, 1807), threatening to seize any neutral 
ship which should obey the Orders in Council. Severe as was the 
injury inflicted on Great Britain by the Continental System, that 
incurred by France was far greater, for she and her allies were 
greatly in want of the goods which at this time only Great Britain 
could furnish in needed quantities. By this policy Napoleon 
alienated nearly the whole Continent, for it was not only obviously 
selfish, but it also vastly increased the cost of living, thus affecting 
people of every rank. 

602. Portugal and Spain. 1807-1808. — In pursuance of Na- 
poleon's policy of conquest, a French army sent to reduce Portugal 
to submission was successful, and the royal family fled to the Portu- 
guese colony of Brazil (1807). The king of Spain, a worthless man, 
quarreled with his son. On an appeal to Napoleon, he drove 
both of them away and put his own brother Joseph on the throne. 
This was a blunder possibly worse than that of the Continental 
System. 

England sent an army into Portugal under Sir Arthur Wellesley 
(later Duke of Wellington), recently returned from his successes in 
India. Wellesley defeated the French, who for a few months lost 
control of both Spain and Portugal. 

603. Peninsular War, 1809-1814; Fall of Napoleon, 1814. — 
Once more Wellesley was sent to the Peninsula (1809) and for 
five years waged a slow but sure warfare against the French in 
Spain and Portugal. Napoleon himself came to Spain, but trouble 
in Austria took him away. In 1810 Russia broke with him, 
but, gathering a grand army, he set out for the conquest of that 
country. As in Spain, national opposition was aroused, and this, 
added to the severity of the winter, defeated him. He retired 
with but a wreck of his grand army. In 1813 all Germany- 
rose against Napoleon, and after a severe three days' battle at 
Leipzig (October 16-18, 181 3) he was defeated. The allies followed 



THE FALL OF NAPOLEON 



471 



his retreat to France, and he was forced to abdicate his throne (April 
6, 1814). He was sent to the island of Elba in the Mediterranean. 
By the First Treaty of Paris (1814), Louis XVIII, brother of Louis 
XVI, was put on the French throne and the Bourbons were thus 
restored (May 3, 1814). In accordance with the treaty also, a 




Europe ix 1S21, at the Height of Napoleon's Power 

congress representing the allied powers was appointed to be held 
at Vienna to settle the affairs of Europe. 

604. English Aggressions. — Meantime England cannot be 
held guiltless of acts of aggression. The only palliation for these 
acts is the extraordinary state of affairs. Her questionable attack 
upon Denmark has already been referred to (§ 600). Her treat- 
ment of the neutral powers was unjust and overbearing, and was 
carried out only by reason of her great naval strength. She for- 
bade all direct trade with France or any part of the Continent 
she claimed, and exercised the right to search any neutral vessel 
for contraband goods and for deserters from the British navy. 



472 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



605. War with United States. — 'The British claim of the 
right to search vessels, and to impress sailors, led to war 
with the United States. In 1812 that country declared war 
against Great Britain, and a conflict both by sea and land ensued, 
the greater part of which from a military point of view was not 
creditable to either side. At sea the few vessels of the United 
States at first inflicted naval losses and damages such as England 
had rarely known, but, owing to the smallness of the American 
navy, were not able to continue their victories, or even to pro- 
tect their coast from blockade. 1 The ill fortune of the Amer- 
icans on land was redeemed by the single victory of Andrew 
Jackson at New Orleans (January 8, 1815); and that was after 
peace had been declared in Europe, though news of it had not 
reached America. While the English had done comparatively 
little with their armies, their burning of the public buildings at 
Washington (18 14) long rankled in the minds of the Americans. 2 
Had there been a little more wisdom on each side, and less pre- 
cipitation on the part of the Americans, war would have been 
avoided. In the treaty which followed (Treaty of Ghent, De- 
cember 24, 1814) the chief occasion of the war — impressment of 
American sailors — was not mentioned. The reason for this was 
that owing to the close of the continental wars there would be no 
need for impressment. There has been peace between Great Britain 
and the United States ever since. There is no other dividing line 
between two nations so long as that between Canada and the 
United States, on which no hostile forts or fortifications are to be 
found, or have been found for a century. 

606. Congress of Vienna, 1814; "The Hundred Days"; Ban- 
ishment of Napoleon, 1815. — The Congress of Vienna (§ 603) 

1 The losses of the British by reason of the American privateers were also very 
great. 

2 The British claimed that the burning by the Americans of York (now Toronto), 
Canada, justified the burning of Washington. The cases, however, were not simi- 
lar; the former was unauthorized, the latter (Washington) was ordered by the 
British government. (See Green, Short History, chap x, § 4.) 



EFFECTS OF THE WAR ON ENGLAND 



473 



proceeded to rearrange and settle the affairs of Europe. It 
should be noted that in this matter the sovereigns alone were 
considered, while the cause of the people was ignored. That this 
contempt of popular rights caused the subsequent revolutions and 
excesses in Europe can hardly be questioned. The lessons of the 
French Revolution had yet to be learned by the rulers of conti- 
nental Europe. While the Congress was in session, the delegates 
were startled to hear that Napoleon had left Elba, had reached 
France (March i, 1815), gathered an army, and had reached 
Paris, from which Louis XVIII had fled, and had entered the 
Tuilleries (March 20, 1815). At once armies were collected to 
put down the rash emperor. Napoleon, following his old tac- 
tics of quick action, endeavored to crush his foes singly. He 
advanced towards the English, Dutch, and German forces under 
Sir Arthur Wellesley, now Duke of Wellington. The armies met 
at Waterloo, near Brussels. Victory was almost within the grasp 
of Napoleon, when Bliicher, the Prussian general, with his troops 
arrived on the field, and the French were defeated (June 18, 
1815). 

Napoleon had staked his all and failed ; he fell back on Paris, 
and again abdicated (June 22, 1815). His second reign had lasted 
just one hundred days. Despairing of escape, he surrendered him- 
self to an English man-of-war. By the decision of the four great 
powers, Austria, England, Russia, and Prussia, he was sent to the 
tropical island of St. Helena in the Atlantic, a British possession 
off the coast of Africa, to be kept in a life captivity. There he 
died, May 5, 1821. In 1840 his body was brought to France and 
interred in the magnificent mausoleum under the dome of the 
Church of the Invalides in Paris. 

By the Second Treaty of Paris (November, 1815) Louis XVIII 
was again set upon the French throne. 

607. Effects of the War on England. — England now entered 
upon a period of external peace. For more than twenty years she 
had been almost continually engaged in an expensive war, a war 



474 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



which had drained her resources and involved her in a heavy debt. 
During this war her domestic concerns had suffered severely. 
As a result large numbers of the population were far from being 
contented with their condition. A review of the history of the war 
confirms the opinion. 

On the other hand, England had made herself the first naval 
power in the world ; she had acquired an influential place in the 
affairs of Europe ; and her colonial empire had been greatly en- 
larged. From this war dates her possession of Malta, the Ionian 
Isles, Heligoland, Trinidad, Mauritius, Tobago, Ceylon, and the 
Cape of Good Hope. 1 

References. — Green, Short History, chap, x, §§ 3-4; Gardiner, Student's 
History, chaps. 1-liv; Terry, History, Part IV, chap, vi; Tout, Advanced 
History, Book VII, chaps, iii, § 32-v; Macaulay, Essays, IVarren Hastings ; 
Traill, Social England, vol. V, chaps, xix-xx; Adams and Stephens, Select 
Documents, §§ 256-259; Cheney, Readings, chap.' xviii, §§ v-vi; Colby, 
Selections, §§ 103-105, 107-115; Kendall, Source-Book, §§ 123-127; 
Lee, Source- Book, §§ 202-208. 

1 The Ionian Isles were ceded to Greece in 1864, and Heligoland to Germany 
in 1890. 



CHAPTER XXVII 
ERA OF REFORM 

608. Political and Economic Conditions in England. — England 
had seldom needed wise men at the helm of government more 
than in 1815. The policy of the Tories, who were in control, was 
to let things alone as far as possible. The prime minister, Lord 
Liverpool, was a man of considerable ability, as is shown by the 
fact that his administration of fifteen years (181 2-182 7) ranks next 
in length of service to those of Walpole and the younger Pitt. 

George III had become permanently insane in 1810, and his son 
George had been appointed Prince Regent. Affiliating with the 
Whigs when simply Prince of Wales, he now allied himself with 
the Tories and became an advocate of the prerogatives of the crown. 
But by his vicious private life he had forfeited the respect of all 
parties. 

The wealthier classes in England as a rule had little sympathy 
with the lower classes. Owing to pressure of taxation, the heavy 
duties on grain, and the disordered conditions of labor, partly the 
result of the Industrial Revolution, there was widespread and genu- 
ine distress, to relieve which little or no attempt was made by the 
government, or by Parliament, in which the working classes were 
unrepresented. An uprising like the French Revolution was 
greatly feared, and it was believed that only force could prevent it. 
It was to be expected that riots would occur. One of these, in 
1 816 near London, was put down by troops; the Habeas Corpus 
Act was suspended by Parliament and public discussion of the 
political situation in meetings or in the press was forbidden. A 
public meeting held in Manchester to protest against the action of 
the government was dispersed by a body of cavalry ( 1819), and the 
government was so alarmed that Parliament passed a series of 

475 



476 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

measures known as the Six Acts or" Gag Laws," greatly restricting 
the right of public meetings. 

The government was equally ill advised in regard to economic 
questions. A striking evidence of this was the passage in 1815 of 
a law in the interest of the great landowners, which forbade the 
importation of grain until the price was 80 shillings a quarter 
(480 lbs.). This made it quite impossible for the poor to buy 
flour, for there was a great scarcity of grain in the country. 
About the same time the income tax, a burden which fell only on 
the well-to-do classes, was removed. 

609. Death of George III; George IV. — The poor old king, 
deaf, blind, decrepit, and insane, died in 1820, and was succeeded 
by George IV, whose character has been already indicated. 
He had married Caroline of Brunswick in 1795, but a separation 
had soon taken place; their only child, the Princess Charlotte, 
had died in 181 7. When George ascended the throne Caroline 
came back to England to claim her rights as queen, and attempting 
to be present at the coronation (1821), she was thrust out by the 
king's orders. The next month she died. The result of the affair 
was to lower the king still further in public opinion. 

610. Cabinet Changes ; Canning ; Huskisson ; Peel. — Even 
among the Tories there were many men who believed in moderate 
and gradual reform. Among them were George Canning, a dis- 
ciple of Pitt, Sir Robert Peel, and Huskisson. Lord Liverpool, 
the prime minister, realizing the necessity of recognizing this 
new element, when opportunity offered, made Canning foreign 
secretary, Huskisson president of the board of trade, an office for 
which he was well qualified, and Sir Robert Peel home secretary. 

611. Sir Robert Peel. — Sir Robert Peel, the son of a 
Lancashire manufacturer, was a man of great ability with a clear 
head for business. He was earnestly desirous to remedy 
social abuses. The medieval custom of severe penalties for 
trivial offenses still prevailed, and the penalty of death was 
prescribed for more than two hundred offenses — among them 



GEORGE IV 



477 



were such slight things as injuring Westminster Bridge, appearing 
with a blackened face on the public highway, and all thefts, even 
petty larceny. Such severe penalties were so revolting to the 
public sense of justice that, rather than find men guilty, juries 
would acquit in the face of the clearest evidence. Through the 
efforts of Peel the 
death penalty was 
abolished for more 
than one hundred 
crimes, 1 and " before 
he left office in 1827 
nearly three hundred 
acts relating to the 
criminal law had been 
wholly or partially re- 
pealed, and such of 
their provisions as 
were still retained had 
been consolidated in 
eight new statutes." 
While all the credit for 
this revolution in the criminal law of England cannot be given 
to Peel, yet without his support it could not have been accom- 
plished. To Peel also is due the reform of the police force in 
London, making it the best in the world. 

612. William Huskisson, George Canning. — To Huskisson, also, 
great praise is due. He was the best economist of his day in public 
life and his clearness of perception brought about important reforms. 
He modified the navigation laws, and carried through Parliament 
an act by which the government was authorized to make treaties 
with foreign nations by which freedom of trade would be given in 

1 He was not, however, the first Englishman to make such a reformation. William 
Penn, one hundred and fifty years earlier, in his code for Pennsylvania, had 
abolished the death penalty except for treason and murder. 




Sir Robert Peel 
After the portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence 



478 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

return for similar privileges. This was known as the principle of 
reciprocity, so much followed in later years, and still of the greatest 
importance in international affairs. He also secured the reduc- 
tion of many customs duties, and, under certain conditions, allowed 
the formation of trade-unions, which had before been absolutely 
prohibited. George Canning deserves much credit for his con- 
duct of the Foreign Office. 

613. Holy Alliance, 181 5. — After the settlement of European 
affairs in 18 15 the one aim of the monarchs was to suppress 
any popular movement towards liberty. An agreement, called 
the Holy Alliance, had been entered into by Austria, Prussia, 
and Russia (181 5). The object of this was, nominally, to support 
and carry out the principles of the Christian religion in all na- 
tional and international affairs. The sovereigns were to consider 
themselves the fathers of their subjects, a position to which they 
were delegated by Providence ; this implied that they knew 
altogether what was best for their subjects. 

Whatever may have been in the mind of the Emperor Alex- 
ander of Russia, who is said to have been the author of this 
scheme, the result was that it became on the continent of Europe 
an instrument for crushing any steps toward liberalism. Canning 
showed conclusively his disapproval of the principles of the Holy 
Alliance, and declared his position to be that of non-interference 
in the domestic concerns of other nations. At the same time 
he recognized the new Spanish-American republics in America 
and sent out British consuls. In this matter he worked with the 
United States, and it was certainly with his knowledge and approval 
that the famous Monroe Doctrine of the United States was an- 
nounced. 1 

1 " An undue share of credit has been assigned to Mr. Canning for the promul- 
gation of the Monroe Doctrine. Canning's proposal went no farther than a protest 
against the transfer of any of the colonies to other powers." Canning was not fond 
of republican institutions, and it must be confessed that in this case it was not 
so much to aid the cause of freedom, as to increase British trade, and from jealousy 
of France, that Canning took the course he did. 



WILLIAM IV 



479 



614. Catholic Emancipation, 1829 ; Repeal of Test Acts, 
1828. — The great question now before England was "Catholic 
emancipation," or the admission of the Catholics to seats in 
Parliament. Catholic emancipation had been brought before 
Parliament almost every year since 1775, and had been a 
rock of danger to almost every administration. As a prelim- 
inary measure, on the motion of Lord John Russell, the old Test 
and Corporation Acts (§§ 437, 451), though annulled every year 
by indemnity acts, were finally repealed. 

Just at this time Daniel O'Connell, an Irishman and a Catholic, 
offered himself for a vacant seat in Ireland and was elected. 
O'Connell was an active agitator in favor of emancipation, a great 
orator, and a man of almost unbounded influence over his 
countrymen. If he were rejected by the Commons, there would 
be serious risk of a rebellion in Ireland. The situation was grave ; 
George IV was as much opposed to granting emancipation as 
George III had been ; the House of Lords was hostile, and a 
very large proportion of the people looked upon it with no 
favor. Through the influence of Peel a Catholic Emancipa- 
tion Bill was passed by a large majority in the House of Com- 
mons and by one almost equally large in the Lords (April, 1829). 
O'Connell submitted to another election, in which he was returned 
without opposition and took his seat in Parliament. The act, 
however, was accompanied by another one, somewhat restricting 
the suffrage in Ireland. The oath which members of Parliament 
had been required to take was modified, the most important 
alteration being that it now read "on the true faith of Christian " ; 
this of course prevented Jews from sitting in Parliament. 1 

615. Death of George IV; William IV, 1830. —George IV 
died in June, 1830, regretted by no one except his favorites. He 
was succeeded by his next younger brother, William, Duke "of 
Clarence. William IV was a commonplace man of whom not 
very much was known ; he was good-natured, simple in his life, 

1 This privilege was not granted to the Jews until 1858. 



480 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

and undignified. He had chosen the sea for his profession and 
so has been called the " Sailor King," but with little justice, for 
he was on shore forty years. He was sixty-five years old at his ac- 
cession, and he and his wife, Adelaide, had no children. He was 
fond of going about unattended, and was generally so eccentric 
that some thought he had inherited his father's insanity. He 
was popular, and was supposed to be in favor of reform. 

616. Revolutions in Europe. 1830. — William IV came to the 
throne at a critical period. The Holy Alliance (§ 613), so far 
from stemming the current of political liberty by its system of 
repression, only strengthened the course of the stream. The 
era of Napoleon had been followed by a period of reaction ; but 
very soon there was a strong movement in favor of democracy, and 
all over Europe the year 1830 was a year of unrest or revolution. 
In France the Bourbon king, Charles X, was overthrown and the 
" Bourgeoise king," Louis Philippe, Duke of Orleans, a constitu- 
tional monarch, put in his place ; the Netherlands, which had 
been established in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna (§ 606), were 
divided, the southern or Catholic portion revolting from the Prot- 
estant Dutch, and so leading to the founding of the Catholic 
kingdom of Belgium. Germany and Italy were alike in a turmoil, 
and the agitation extended to England. 

617. Parliamentary Reform. 1830. — Parliamentary reform, 
like Catholic emancipation, was no new thing ; it had been pro- 
posed from time to time ever since the days of Chatham. The 
strong opposition of the great landholders of the aristocratic class, 
the long Napoleonic wars, and the extravagant demands of the 
radical reformers, all worked together to delay reform. Now, 
however, affairs on the Continent and the ill-advised words and 
speeches of the strict Tories brought the matter to an issue. 

' 618. Need of Reform. — It needs but a few examples to show 
the need of reform. The parliamentary districts had not been 
changed for hundreds of years, and, while in the beginning they 
were doubtless tolerably fair, they had become in the process of 






PARLIAMENTARY REFORM 48 I 

time grossly unjust. Owing to natural causes population had 
shifted greatly : places which had been populous had become 
almost devoid of inhabitants ; while other places, mere hamlets in 
the past, had become centers of large and growing population. 
Old Sarum, which the elder Pitt represented (§ 542), had now no 
inhabitants, and yet returned two members nominated and elected 
by the owner of the land ; Bosseney sent two members chosen by 
nine electors ; Gatton had seven voters ; Michelle had five. On 
the other hand, such large cities as Birmingham, Leeds, Man- 
chester, and Sheffield had no representation at all, neither had 
the populous suburbs of London. The House of Commons was 
made up of members from boroughs and counties, and five repre- 
sentatives from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. When 
the system was devised, the bulk of the population was in the 
southern counties, and these now had about as many representa- 
tives as the far more thickly populated central and northern 
counties put together. Nor was this all : the borough members 
in particular were often not representative of the people, but were 
nominees of the nobility, or of rich landed gentry, or of the gov- 
ernment for the time being. 1 

In the course of time something had been done ; a few " rot- 
ten " boroughs had been disfranchised, and laws had been passed 
against bribery and corruption, but that was all. Still other evils 
existed ; the polls were kept open for several days, in one case for 
six weeks, and the voting was viva voce, a system which encouraged 
bribery and corruption. 

The condition of affairs was even worse in Scotland than it was 
in England, and Ireland was little if any better. 

619. Struggle in Parliament. 1 831-183 2. — Reform Unions 
had been established all over the country, and the popular demand 
for the reformation of Parliament was so strong that the Whig min- 

1 These boroughs were divided into " pocket " boroughs, or those, as it were, car- 
ried in the pocket of the great landowner, whose tenants voted as he directed them, 
and " rotten " boroughs, or those where there were so few voters that they could 
not really be considered boroughs at all. 



482 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

istry, which had assumed office, 1830, were compelled to offer 
a Reform Bill. The first reform bill was brought in by Lord 
John Russell 1 in March, 1831. It failed to pass the House, 
but, feeling sure of their position, the ministry dissolved Parlia- 
ment and ordered a new election. Notwithstanding the condition 
of the electorate, a large majority of reformers was returned 
and a second reform bill was passed, but was rejected by the 
House of Lords. At once serious riots took place in many 
parts of the country, which so influenced the Lords that they 
passed a third reform bill to its second reading (May, 1832). 
The Lords now tried to evade the issue by postponing measures ; 
but the ministry were resolved to put the matter through, and 
called upon the king to create enough peers to pass the bill, as 
had been done in 1711 in the reign of Anne (§ 517). The king 
refused and the ministry resigned. The king now called upon 
Wellington to form a Tory ministry, which he found impossible 
to do. Earl Grey was recalled, and the king gave his written 
promise to create, if needful, enough peers to pass the bill. 2 On 
this, rather than be swamped with new liberal peers, Wellington 
persuaded enough of his fellow-lords to absent themselves from 
the House, 3 and the bill was passed in their absence by a majority 
of eighty-four (June 4, 1832) and received the royal assent, June 
7, 1832. 

620. Importance and Results of Reform Bill of 1 832. — The 
history of this important measure explains how it was that England 
escaped the terrible revolutions which took place on the Conti- 
nent, notwithstanding her people were profoundly influenced by 
them. The ruling classes on the Continent believed that force 
was the only way to end popular uprisings ; but the use of armed 

1 He was at this time only an Irish peer, and so was able to sit in the Commons. 

2 The exact wording was, " The King grants permission to Earl Grey and his 
Chancellor, Lord Brougham, to create such numbers of Peers as will be sufficient 
to insure the passing of the Reform Bill, first calling up Peers' eldest sons. Signed 
William R. 1832." The words were written by Lord Brougham (see § 693, 191 1). 

3 King William himself sent a circular letter to about one hundred Tory peers, 
asking them to absent themselves from the House. 



REFORM BILL OF 1832 



4S3 



force resulted, as it almost always must do, in the use of more 
force. In England, on the contrary, the rulers resisted up to a 
certain point, but when they found that popular sentiment was 
determined, at last, though sometimes late, they gave way, either 
to complete reform or to a compromise which would be accepted. 




George Square, Glasgow, Scotland 

Showing statues of John Knox, King William III, the Duke of Wellington, 
Queen Victoria, and many others 

Reform bills were also passed for Scotland and Ireland, embody- 
ing similar principles. The great result of the Reform Bill was to 
give the franchise for the House of Commons to the middle 
classes. It required a property qualification for voters and made 
the qualifications uniform throughout the kingdom, it established 
a system of registration, and it restricted the time of voting to two 
days. It increased the number of voters fifty per cent. There 
was also a complete redistribution of the seats of members. 
" Rotten " and " pocket " boroughs were done away with, and 
the seats given to those districts which had been without repre- 
sentation, while other boroughs had their representation reduced. 



484 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

In this way the populous manufacturing and commercial districts of 
the country acquired a rightful voice in legislation, and from this 
time public opinion had a direct voice in the affairs of the nation 
as it had never had before. England was no longer ruled exclu- 
sively by the aristocratic and large landholding classes, great as 
their influence continued to be. The bill, however, to modern 
eyes was a very moderate measure, for though it enfranchised the 
middle classes, it did nothing directly for the agricultural or in- 
dustrial classes. 

The new Parliament chosen under the Reform Bill was over- 
whelmingly " Liberal," by which name the reformers began to be 
called. 1 

Parliament met in 1833 and immediately took up the question 
of reform in other directions. In the same year (1833) was passed 
the Emancipation Act, which liberated all slaves in the British 
dominions, and granted the owners of them ^20,000,000 com- 
pensation. The act was to come into full force in 1838, at which 
time about 800,000 slaves were set free. 2 

In 1834 a new Poor Law was passed, remedying in many ways 
the antiquated and injurious legislation in force. Still another act 
was passed (1834) to check the evil arising from the employment 
of children in factories and mills. This act, while falling very far 
short of full relief, was a step in the right direction and did much 
to check overwork. 3 

1 The majority was composed of many elements, and the actual working majority 
is difficult to estimate. The Liberal members have been taken at 486, the Tory at 
172; this would nominally give the Liberals a majority of 314, the largest any gov- 
ernment has had in English history, until that of the Liberals in 1906, which was 

358. 

2 Large as was the compensation and careful as were the provisions of the act, the 
owners probably did not receive as much as half their immediate and entailed loss. 

3 In 1800 children of seven years old and upward were often compelled to work 
twelve or fourteen hours a day. Only by persistent effort had the limit been re- 
duced in 1816 to twelve hours. The opposition had been mainly in the House of 
Lords. Later also, through the efforts of Ashley, afterwards known as Lord 
Shaftesbury, a commission was appointed to investigate the condition of women 
and children employed in the coal mines. A horrible state of affairs was re- 
vealed, which led to stringent restrictive legislation. 



THE POOR LAWS AND LABOR 485 

621 Strikes and Trade-unions; Irish Affairs. 1833. — The 
country was greatly disturbed by strikes and the demonstra- 
tions of the trade-unions, but, as so often, Irish affairs claimed the 
closer attention of the government. The chief Irish grievance 
was the fact that every one had to give tithes for the support of the 
Church of England, which by law was the established church of 
Ireland, though less than one fourteenth of the population of Ire- 
land at that time were Protestants. The payment of tithes was often 
refused, and collectors were not unfrequently seriously maltreated 
and sometimes even murdered. A coercion act was passed 
in Parliament and the trouble was sternly and severely put 
down. 

622. More Reforms ; Reaction ; Change of Ministry. 1 834-1 835. 
— Another important act (1833) was that ending the monopoly of the 
East India Company and throwing open the commerce of China 
to all. 1 Still another act introduced desirable changes in certain 
law courts. All these, and other measures, were accomplished by 
the Reform Parliament; but, as usual after radical changes of 
party and in legislation, there came a period of reaction. No re- 
form can be set on foot and accomplished without injuring some 
one, and often a larger number than is expected. Again radical 
reformers are always irritated because reforms are not carried far- 
ther. So before a year elapsed the power of the great majority 
began to grow less, and even in the government itself serious dif- 
ferences of opinion manifested themselves. 

In 1834 after several changes in the ministry Sir Robert Peel 
again came into office. Among the members of his administra- 
tion was a young man of twenty-five who had entered the Reform 
Parliament as a Tory, William Ewart Gladstone, who thus early 
took a prominent place in that body of which he was to become 
one of the most distinguished members. 2 

1 Trade with India had been made free in 1813. 

2 Gladstone was elected for Newark in 1832, and with the exception of a few 
months in 1846, remained a member till his death in 1895. 



486 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



623. Municipal Corporations Act, 1835 ; Death of William. 
1837. — An important measure of reform passed in 1835 was the 
Municipal Corporations Act (1835). The mayors and town coun- 
cils of towns and cities in England had been chosen in a great 
variety of ways, but generally the members were self-elected and 




Guildhall, the Council Hall of London 
Founded in 141 1 ; restored after the fire of 1666 

often sat for life. A commission appointed to investigate the 
matter had revealed a vast amount of corruption, showing that 
conditions were quite as bad as had been the case in the old 
parliamentary boroughs. A new bill required that all municipal 
corporations should be chosen in accordance with a uniform law 
which made them representative bodies. 1 

King William IV died on June 20, 1837, seventy-two years old. 
He had made a fairly successful ruler and deserves more credit 

1 By the new act the governing body was a town council consisting of a mayor, 
aldermen, and councilors. The ratepayers (taxpayers) elected the councilors, 
who from their own number chose the aldermen and the mayor. 



DEATH OF WILLIAM IV 



487 



than he usually gets for his support of the reform movements. 
The seven years of his reign were more fruitful in reforms than 
all the sixty years during which George III occupied the throne 
of England. 1 

References. — Gardiner, Student's History, chaps, lv-lvii, § 9; Terry, 
History, Part IV, chap, vii, pp. 976-999; Tout, Advanced History, Book 
VIII, chaps, i-ii; Traill, Social England, vol. VI, chap, xxi; Adams and Ste- 
phens, Select Documents, §§ 260-265; Cheyney, Readings, chap, xix, §§ i-iv; 
Colby, Selections, §§ 113-117; Kendall, Source-Book, §§ 128-130, 139; Lee, 
Source-Book, §§ 209-220. 

1 The chief of these reforms, which, however, in part belong to the reign of 
George IV, deserve to be summarized: Corporation Act (1661) and Test Act 
(1673) repealed (1828) ; Catholic Relief Act (1829) ; Parliamentary Reform Act 
(1832) ; Municipal Reform Act for Scotland (1833), and for England (1835) 1 Aboli- 
tion of Slavery (1833) ; Regulation of Work of Women and Children in Factories 
(1833) ; New Poor Law (1834) ; Reformation of Criminal Code (1820) ; Reformation 
of Currency (1823) ; Grant for Public Education for Ireland (i83i),and for England 
(1833) ; Stamp Duty on Newspapers greatly reduced (1836) ; several acts remov- 
ing restrictions on labor. 




The Mansion House, Residence of the Lord Mayor of London 



CHAPTER XXVIII 
ERA OF REFORM AND GROWTH OF COLONIAL EMPIRE 

624. Victoria. 1837. — As King William and Queen Adelaide 
left no children, the crown descended to the young daughter of 
Edward, Duke of Kent, the fourth son of George III. Her father, 
who married late in life, had died in 1820. Victoria was his only 
child. Born on May 24, 18 10, she was just eighteen. She had been 
carefully brought up by her mother in great privacy. 1 What is 
known as the Salic law, which excludes women from a throne, pre- 
vailed in Hanover, hence that monarchy was separated from the 
British crown, and the next surviving son of George III, Ernest, 
Duke of Cumberland, succeeded to the rule of Hanover. It was 
a most fortunate circumstance for England thus without friction 
to be set free from what might at any time cause dangerous en- 
tanglement with continental affairs. 2 

625. Transition Period; Marriage of Victoria. 1840. — The 
reign of Victoria, the longest in British annals, is also one of the most 
remarkable. It was a time of transition from the rule of aristocracy 
to that of democracy, a time of experiment in almost every field 
of human interest, a period of unexampled advance in material 
invention and material prosperity. During this reign England be- 
came truly a constitutional monarchy — that is, a monarchy in 
which the people rule, and in which the monarch exercises a re- 
straining or regulating influence rather than a controlling one. 

Up to the reign of Victoria the monarch claimed the right to 

1 Sir Walter Scott, who dined with the Duchess of Kent in May, 1828, afterwards 
wrote in his diary, " This little lady is educated with much care and watched so 

closely that no busy maid has a moment to whisper, ' You are heir of England.' " 

2 It was also fortunate for England that she had no Salic law, because the Duke 
of Cumberland, the heir next to Victoria, was highly unpopular, and almost without 
doubt would have made a bad king. Hanover became part of Prussia in 1866. 



ACCESSION OF QUEEN VICTORIA 489 

choose and to dismiss the prime minister, and to influence the 
choice of his cabinet. Early in her reign Victoria yielded this 
claim and thenceforward selected as prime minister the man who 
could command a majority in the House of Commons. The 
prime minister selects his cabinet, all the members of which are 
from the party controlling the Commons. If the ministry loses 
the majority in the Commons, then the whole cabinet resigns. 
The prime minister stands at the head of the ministry or cabinet, 
which within constitutional limits governs the kingdom. The in- 
fluence of the sovereign, however, remains great. Victoria insisted 
that she should be informed of what was going on, and that after 
any measure had received the royal sanction it should not be 
altered or modified without her consent. All these precedents 
were not adopted at once, but grew up during her reign. 

In 1840 the queen married her first cousin, Albert, Prince of 
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. To his wise, unselfish counsel, and generally 
tactful bearing the queen owed much of her success. He was 
created Prince Consort in 1857. 1 Until his death in 1861 he ex- 
ercised a great though quiet influence in public matters, especially 
in foreign affairs. As a matter of fact, though it was unofficial, 
" Prince Albert's position gave him as good a right as the queen 
to be regarded as the ruler of the British realm." 

From the very first the young queen showed remarkable self- 
possession, tact, prudence, good judgment, and a very strong 
sense of the seriousness and responsibility of her position. 

626. General Conditions at the Accession of Victoria. 1837. — 
According to the custom prevailing at that period, Parliament had 
been dissolved at the accession of the new monarch, and a new 
one elected. The Whigs retained the majority, but the Tories, 2 or, 

1 He was strictly speaking, Duke of Saxony, Prince of Coburg and Gotha. The 
family name of the Georges was Guelph ; that of Prince Albert was Wettin, which 
is now the surname of the English royal family. 

2 The term Conservative had been used since about 1824, but sparingly. The 
term Tory did not wholly go out of use, and many Liberals even yet like to call their 
Conservative opponents " Tories." 



490 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

as they now began to call themselves, the " Conservatives," had 
increased their numbers. 

The condition of political and social affairs at the accession of 
Victoria was by no means satisfactory. The Irish, under the lead 
of Daniel O'Connell, were demanding the repeal of the Act of 
Union (§§ 590, 591). As the votes of the Irish members of Parlia- 
ment were valuable to the ministry, an effort was made at concili- 
ation in the passage of a better Poor Law, and by an Irish Tithe 
Act which changed the tithe of the produce of the land, which 
was the tax for the support of the Established Church, into a 
permanent rent charge in money, payable by the landlords (1838) } 

There was serious trouble in India ; and in Jamaica, resulting 
from the emancipation of the slaves ; and there was actual rebellion 
in Canada. 

627. Canada. 1839-1841. — Canada, in accordance with a plan 
devised by Pitt, 2 had been divided into two independent provinces, 
Upper and Lower Canada. Upper Canada was almost wholly 
peopled by British colonists, while Lower Canada was almost ex- 
clusively French. The system of rule which had been adopted 
opened the way for bad government. In Lower Canada the French 
disliked extremely the ways and actions of the British settlers who 
came among them. In each province there were grievances 
needing redress, chiefly that the legislative assemblies had no real 
power. 

Lord Durham, one of the ablest men in the Liberal party, was 
sent out to settle matters. Lord Durham, however, was not a 
skilful administrator, and when the ministry rejected one of his 
ordinances he resigned. But though he was unsuccessful in 
administration, his report on the condition of Canada was so 
clear and convincing that many of his ideas were embodied in 
the new scheme of government adopted for Canada. By this the 

1 A somewhat similar bill for England had been passed in 1836. An Irish Tithe 
Act passed in 1835, and another in 1836, had been rejected by the House of 
Lords. - Adopted in 1791. 



CHARTISM 



491 



two colonies were united under one government with a legislative 
assembly having some control over the executive (1 839-1 841) ; 
so that in local matters the colonies had practically self- 
government. 1 

628. Chartism. — The country had not yet adjusted itself to 
the new conditions brought about by the Industrial Revolution 
(§ 566). The 
upper classes held 
firmly to the prin- 
ciple of protection, 
and in consequence 
of the laws restrict- 
ing the importation 
of grain, bread was 
so costly that thou- 
sands were unable 
to buy it. Wages 
were low, and there 
was still among the 
working classes 
widespread opposi- 
tion to the extended 
use of machinery 
and labor-saving 
devices. Seldom, if 

ever, had the English working classes been in a more deplorable 
condition. 

Many remedies were proposed for this state of affairs. The 
most attractive to the working classes was Chartism. This name 
was taken from a document known as the " People's Charter," 
which was drawn up to set forth the rights and embody the 
demands of these classes. 




Queen Victoria in 1877 



1 This form of government lasted with but little alteration until superseded by the 
Dominion of Canada in 1867. 



492 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



The six chief points of the Charter were (i) universal manhood 
suffrage; (2) vote by ballot ; (3) annual Parliaments ; (4) aboli- 
tion of property qualification for a seat in Parliament ; (5) pay- 
ment of members of Parliament ; (6) equal electoral districts. 

In the great Reform Bill of 1832 no attention had been paid 
to the interests of the working man, and the " People's Charter " 
aimed to remedy this evil. Public meetings were held, news- 
papers and pamphlets published, and later, petitions presented 
to Parliament. One of these in 1839 was sa id to have more than 
a million names signed to it, but Parliament refused even to 
consider it. When this was known there was rioting in a number 
of places. Everywhere the movement was met with strong re- 
pressive measures, neither the government nor Parliament either 
sympathizing with the people or apparently understanding the 
real issues involved. The movement was repressed, but not 
crushed, as was shown later. Most of the demands of the Chart- 
ists have been peacefully granted, though it has taken many years 
to accomplish it. 

629. Anti-corn Law League. 1838. — Still another movement of 
important results was the Anti-corn- Law League. This also was 
aimed at bettering the condition of the working classes, but in 
a way which would enlist the sympathies of the middle classes as 
well. It was set on foot by political economists and practical 
business men of great ability. Begun at Manchester, its leaders 
were Richard Cobden, a manufacturer, of liberal views and wide 
and accurate information, John Bright, a Quaker, a manufacturer 
and an orator of the highest class, and Charles Villiers, a member 
of Parliament. These men claimed that the high price of corn 1 
not only injured the working classes but was also detrimental to 
trade. It was, therefore, the interest of the community that there 
should be free trade, especially in corn, and that to " buy in the 
cheapest market and sell in the dearest " was in accord with 
true economic principles. By means of public meetings, circula- 

1 Corn is in England the general name for grain, particularly of wheat. 



CORN LAWS AND PENNY POSTAGE 



493 



tion of pamphlets, and speeches in and out of Parliament, the 
supporters kept the matter before the public. 

630. Penny Postage. 1 839-1 840. — In 1839, in response to 
a strong popular demand, the postal system was reformed, and 
cheap postage, in accord with a plan proposed in 1837 by Rowland 
Hill, was adopted. Heretofore letters had been carried at a rate 
varying according to the number of sheets in a letter, the distance 
to be carried, and the means of carriage. The rates charged were 
high, and the result was that comparatively few letters were sent. 
By the new system a uniform and low rate was charged for letters, 
the charge varying only with the weight, one half ounce being 
adopted as the unit ; and the franking privileges of the members 
of Parliament were abolished. The plan was stoutly opposed in 
Parliament, but the bill was passed. At first there was a serious 
loss in revenue, but very soon the advantages of the system were 
recognized, and the number of letters sent became so large that 
the post office became a source of revenue instead of a loss as 
it had been. Postage stamps were introduced in 1840. 1 

631. Foreign Affairs. 1839-1840. — Lord Palmerston, the 
foreign minister, managed to bring on a quarrel with France which 
nearly caused a war with that nation concerning Egypt, because 
Louis Philippe had encouraged its pasha to seize Syria from Turkey. 
Alarmed at the prospect of French influence in Egypt, Palmerston 
formed an alliance with Austria, Prussia, and Russia which brought 
this plan to an end, and handed Syria over to Turkey. Palmer- 
ston cherished the belief that Turkey would reform her govern- 
ment — a vain delusion, as subsequent events showed. The real 
object, however, of Palmerston, which he steadily pursued for 
many years to come, was to prevent the advance of Russia, and 
her control and probable acquisition of the whole or a large part 
of the Turkish Empire — a policy which led to the support of the 
half-civilized Ottoman Empire by the western nations in order to 

1 The rate under this new system was at first four pence per half ounce, which 
was, on and after January 10, 1840, to be reduced to one penny. 



494 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



maintain the balance of power in Europe ; which brought on the 
Crimean War; and which preserved the Ottoman rule in Europe. 
Shrewdly relying on the selfish attitude of the great powers, 
every Turkish sultan maintained a system of misgovernment 
which was a disgrace to modern times. 

632. Chinese Policy; Opium Trade. 1839-1842. — Another 
small war, not creditable to England, was that with China. China 
pursued the policy of exclusion from the outside world, and re- 
sisted every attempt to extend the trade with western nations. 
Mistaken as this policy seems, it was one she had a right to follow. 
A trade had sprung up with the port of Canton, though foreign 
vessels were not allowed to come to the city itself. Up to 1834 
the trade had been confined to the East India Company, but when 
their monopoly ceased (§ 652), it was open to all comers. One 
result of this was a vast increase in the smuggling of opium, a 
drug much used by the Chinese in smoking for its narcotic effect. 
The evil effects of such practice were well known to the Chinese 
government, and the importing of opium was rigidly prohibited. 
The Chinese, finding it was almost impossible to shut out the 
noxious drug, closed all trade with England. The English super- 
intendent resented this, and by arms forced a renewal of trade 
privileges. Matters, however, went on from bad to worse until 
actual war with China resulted. 

633. Chinese War, 1839. — The Chinese were worsted, and 
compelled to make peace (1842). Five ports were opened to 
British trade ; and a large sum was paid for British opium 
destroyed by the Chinese during the troubles ; a heavy indem- 
nity was paid to the British ; and the island of Hong Kong 
was ceded to them. The Chinese, however, refused to legalize 
the opium traffic in spite of the most persistent efforts of the 
British. But the Chinese, after their experience with the British 
arms, were afraid to enforce their laws, and so the trade increased ; 
and as it was a government monopoly in India, and the source of 
large revenue, the British authorities in India not only made no 



TARIFF REFORMS OF PEEL 495 

efforts to stop the trade, but were accustomed to defend it on 
the ground of the revenue it produced. So this iniquitous 
traffic has continued until the present time. So clearly was the 
real cause of the war understood that it has always been called 
the "Opium War." 1 

634. Peel's Ministry. 1841. — Sir Robert Peel became prime 
minister a second time in 1841 and proved himself to be one of 
England's greatest statesmen. He was an able politician and 
parliamentary leader ; he was, like Pitt, the soul of the cabinet, 
and he had above all the rare characteristic of acting in accord- 
ance with his personal convictions whether they were in accord 
with his party or not. 

In his cabinet were the Duke of Wellington, without an office, 
Lord Aberdeen, Foreign Minister, and, though not at first in the 
cabinet, yet one of the junior officers, William E. Gladstone. 
The failure of the Whig movement had been in financial and 
economic measures ; to these, from the character of the times 
and the widespread distress, Peel was bound to give his careful 
attention. 

635. Tariff Reforms of Peel. 1842. — Peel proposed that the 
duty on foreign corn (wheat) should vary as the price of home- 
grown wheat varied. If the price should decline the duty should 
increase, and should fall as the price rose. In order to offset a 
reduction in duties on imports, he proposed an income tax and 
the abolition of export duties. 2 

After considerable opposition from the Conservatives, because 
they thought he was granting too much, and from the radical 
Free Traders, because he was not granting enough, Peel's measures 
passed Parliament (1842). The cause of the Anti-corn League 

1 No English government had the courage to put an end to this trade until 
the Liberal administration took the matter up seriously (1908). By an agreement 
with China the amount of opium exported from India to China will be gradually 
diminished. In 1911 a new agreement provides that the export from India shall 
close in less than seven years, if no opium is produced in China. 

2 He reduced the duties on about 750 articles, leaving about 450 untouched. 



496 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

had been greatly strengthened by the advent of Richard Cobden 
into Parliament (1841) and also of John Bright (1844) (§ 629), 
but circumstances, even more than perseverance and eloquence, 
worked for the cause. 

636. Failure of Irish Potato Crop, 1845 ; Reduction of Corn 
Duties, 1846. — A blight fell on the potato crop in Ireland in 
1845, resulting in a very short crop which, as potatoes formed 
the chief food of the people, brought on a famine and widespread 
disease. 

The undoubted success of the new tariff laws had led Peel to 
modify his views on tariff questions, and when famine came upon 
the Irish he felt that foreign wheat must be brought in to help 
them. This could not be done without altering the laws, but if 
the laws were repealed, it was not likely that they could be re- 
enacted. Peel advocated their repeal, but as a large portion of 
his cabinet refused to support him, he resigned. The queen asked 
Lord John Russell to form a ministry, but he was unable to do so, 
and Peel came back. He now proposed to make a heavy reduc- 
tion in the duties on corn and in three years to lower them to a 
nominal amount. This action divided the Conservatives, and Peel 
was forced to depend on the Whigs to carry his measure. He 
generously ascribed the credit of the Repeal of the Corn Laws, as 
the measure is called, to Cobden and his associates 1 (1846). 

637. Irish Coercion Act ; Peel Resigns. 1846. — Owing to the 
great number of disorders in Ireland, Peel felt it needful to ask 
for a coercion act. The Whigs, the radical Conservatives and Pro- 
tectionists voted against the bill and it so happened that on the 
same night on which the Lords passed the repeal of the Corn 
Laws, Peel was defeated in the House of Commons. He at once 
placed his resignation in the hands of the queen. 2 

1 The duty was reduced to 4 shillings per quarter (480 pounds) till 1849, when it 
was to become one shilling. This was abolished by Gladstone in 1869, and corn 
was admitted free of any duty. 

2 Peel never again held office, but he continued to e::ercise a great influence. 
He died from the effects of a fall from his horse, July 2, 1850. 



IRISH AND AMERICAN AFFAIRS 



497 



638. Settlement of Boundary Disputes in America, 1842; 
Bank Act, 1844. — Meantime the conciliatory policy of Aber- 
deen, the foreign minister, had arranged the long-standing diffi- 
culty with the United States in regard to the northeast boundary 
between the British possessions and the United States, and later 
effected an adjustment of the northwestern boundary also. 1 

Among other measures of importance passed by the Peel ad- 
ministration was the Bank Act of 1844, which revised the charter 
of the Bank of England and forbade any bank formed after the 
passage of the act to issue paper currency. The Bank of England 
has been carried on under this charter to the present day. 2 

639. Lord John Russell's Ministry, 1846- 185 2 ; Irish Affairs. 
— Lord John Russell, who had done good service in the Re- 
form movement (§ 619) became prime minister in 1846. The 
first question to be handled was that of Ireland. The potato 
crop, bad in 1845, was a failure in 1846, and terrible distress and 
famine took place. Modifications of the Poor Laws were made 
and relief extended — but not sufficient. Private benevolence 
stepped in and much was done to help the suffering. The popu- 
lar remedy for the Irish was emigration, and thousands left for 
America, many to perish on shipboard from disease, the result 
of starvation and unsanitary conditions. Between death and emi- 
gration the population of Ireland declined nearly two millions. 
Such distress naturally bred discontent and finally rebellion, and 
the Liberal government felt forced to bring in a coercion bill 
almost identical with that of Peel. Had Russell's full plan been 
carried out, some evils might have been remedied ; as it was, the 
legislation probably did more harm than good. Again England 
had missed a chance of settling affairs in Ireland on a fairly just 

1 The settlement of the northeastern boundary question in 1842 was a fair com- 
promise of the conflicting claims. Lack of accurate knowledge prevented a final 
settlement of the Oregon question until 1872. 

2 More than once in times of financial crisis the charter has been suspended for 
a short period, but on the whole the workings of the act have been remarkably 
successful. 



498 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

basis, and, as has been generally the case, the fault chiefly lay 
with the great landholders in the House of Lords. 

640. Revolutions and Social Discontent. 1 848-1 849. — Like 
1830 the year 1848 was a year of European revolutions. Louis 
Philippe was driven from the French throne, and in nearly every 
state on the Continent there were revolutions more or less serious. 
Everywhere there was the demand for constitutional government. 
The small states, overturned or absorbed by 'larger ones as a result 
of the Napoleonic wars, had been restored by the Congress of 
Vienna (1814-1815), and now the people were restive under 
petty exactions and arbitrary boundaries. No crowned head in 
Europe rested easily during 1848, and nearly every monarch had 
to make some concessions. 

The effect on the people of the British Islands was not slight. 
In Ireland there was an attempt at rebellion, which was soon put 
down. In England there was a renewal of the Chartist movement 
(§ 628). A great meeting was called on Kennington Common, 
London, and a monster petition, intended to be presented to 
Parliament, was begun. The government took active measures 
and it is said that 1 70,000 special policemen were sworn in to pre- 
vent violence. The meeting, however, was a failure. Numerous 
as the Chartists were in England, the great majority of them were 
opposed to the use of force, and so the danger passed. 

In 1 85 1 Louis Napoleon, who had been elected (1848) Presi- 
dent of the French Republic, by a coup d'etat, as it was called, 
overthrew the republic, and in 1832 proclaimed himself Emperor. 
This was afterwards confirmed by a large popular vote. 1 

641. Exhibition of 1851 ; Earl of Derby Prime Minister, 
1852; Disraeli. — In 1851 the first great international exhibition 
was held in London. It owed its origin, and also, to a very great 
extent, its success, to Prince Albert. It certainly tended to bring 
about better feelings between the different nations of the earth ; 

1 Louis Napoleon was the son of Napoleon's younger brother, Louis, and Hor- 
tense, daughter of the Empress Josephine. 



REVOLUTIONS AND SOCIAL DISCONTENT 



499 



and, more than this, it showed to the whole world what was being 
done for the advance of civilization, and it stimulated many nations 
to greater efforts to better their condition. 

Lord John Russell's ministry resigned in 1852, and the Earl of 
Derby, a protectionist, was called upon to form a government. 
Among those who now 
came into office for 
the first time was 
Benjamin Disraeli, 
later one of the best- 
known names in Eng- 
lish history of the nine- 
teenth century. Of 
Jewish descent, a 
novelist of some repu- 
tation, he had only 
after failure succeeded 
in making for himself 
a place in the Com- 
mons. He had bril- 
liant talents, bound- 
less ambition, and 
audacity ; he was a 
skilled debater and keen antagonist ; he knew little of finance or 
political economy, and had been a strong protectionist from 
policy. He recognized, however, that free trade had come to 
stay, and in bringing forward his budget, for he was made chan- 
cellor of the exchequer, to the surprise of friend and foe, he 
took his stand as a free trader. An election took place and 
in the new House a group of men who held the views of Peel, 
and hence called " Peelites," held the balance of power. 

642. Coalition Ministry, 1852; War with Russia, 1854. — As 
the ministry was in a minority it soon fell, and was followed by 
a " coalition " ministry of " Peelites " and Whigs. Lord Aberdeen 




Benjamin Disraeli 
Earl of Beaconsfield 



5oo 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



became prime minister, Gladstone, chancellor of the exchequer, 
John Russell, foreign minister, and Palmerston, home secretary. 

The new ministry soon had an important question to handle. 
In 1850 a very trifling circumstance occurred in Palestine which 
began a conflict leading to grave results lasting down to the 
present. This was a dispute between the Roman Catholic and 
Greek priests regarding the guardianship of the Church of the 
Nativity and of some other places in Bethlehem. The Czar 
Nicholas, the head of the Greek Church, took the side of the 
Greek priests and demanded to be considered as the protector 
of all the Greek Christians in the Turkish dominions. On the 
other side the Emperor Napoleon III, solely with a view of 
strengthening his own position, espoused the cause of the Latin 
priests. The Turks, fearing Russia above all other powers, 
supported the Latin or Roman Catholic priests. Had the matter 
stopped here it would have been of little importance, but Nicholas 
proceeded to strong measures and in 1853 occupied Moldavia 
and Wallachia (nearly the present kingdom of Roumania). 
There seems little doubt that Nicholas believed that England 
would not interfere, at least by arms, and so kept on. Napoleon 
III, wishing to secure his power and distract attention at home, 
saw his opportunity. Palmerston was an admirer of Napoleon 
III, and, sympathizing with him, especially as he distrusted 
Russia, managed to gain the support of the British cabinet. As 
a result England and France declared war against Russia. 

643. British Approval of the War; The "Crimean War." 
1854-1856. — Largely from ignorance of the real conditions, 
popular feeling in England was in favor of the war. Many now 
think that the war was a grave mistake. As has been so often 
the case in England, commercial reasons played an important 
part, for it was believed that if Russia gained Constantinople, 
the trade with India would be seriously menaced if not destroyed. 
Aberdeen, the prime minister, among others was strongly opposed 
to war, but was forced to yield. 



THE CRIMEAN WAR 5OI 

Before the British and French troops reached Turkey the 
Czar had withdrawn from the Turkish territory and the chief 
ground for war was removed. But it was deemed needful to 
humble Russia, and so an expedition, already planned to attack 
Russia in the Crimea, was sent out. War began in earnest in 
September, 1854, between England, France, Turkey, and later 
Sardinia, on the one side, and Russia on the other. The battles 
of Alma, Balaklava, 1 and Inkerman were fought but were inde- 
cisive. One feature of the war was the siege of Sevastopol, 
a strongly fortified town of the Crimea and the Russian military 
station in the Black Sea. The siege, one of the most celebrated 
of the nineteenth century, lasted nearly a year. 

644. Florence Nightingale (1819-1910). — During the severe 
Russian winter the British troops suffered terribly from cold 
and disease, and from gross mismanagement. When this be- 
came known in England, there was great indignation, and a 
demand was made for inquiry and redress. Among the means 
for helping the soldiers was the provision for skilled nurses for 
the sick in the hospitals. At head of the band of nurses went 
out Florence Nightingale, whose noble efforts to relieve the 
distressed made her name a synonym for efficient care of the 
sick and wounded. Her successful efforts were the beginning 
of the movement which resulted in the founding of the modern 
Red Cross Society, and to her example is also due the establish- 
ment of many schools for the thorough training of nurses. She 
received many tokens of appreciation. A public testimonial of 
^50,000 which she received she gave to found a training school 
for nurses. In 1907 King Edward conferred on her the Order 
of Merit, the first time it had ever been bestowed on a woman ; 
in 1908 she received the freedom of the City of London. After 
being an invalid for many years, she died in her ninety-first year 
(19 10). She would have been interred in Westminster Abbey, 

1 At Balaklava took place the brave but useless charge of the six hundred cel- 
ebrated in Tennyson's well-known poem. 



502 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



had she not expressly provided for a simple funeral and inter- 
ment in a country churchyard. 1 

645. Sevastopol; Peace of 1856.-111 September, 1855, tne 
French captured a fort which commanded Sevastopol ; the Rus- 
sians, rather than surrender, sank all their ships of war, blew up 
the defenses and stores, and evacuated the place, after destroying 
as far as possible everything of value. 

Meantime the Czar Nicholas had died (1855), and his son and 
successor, Alexander II, by no means as warlike as he, within a 
year was willing to consider proposals of peace. Indeed all parties 
were ready for peace, which was made in 1856. By the terms of 
the Treaty of Paris the Black Sea was closed to all ships of war 
but open to all merchant vessels ; all conquests with slight excep- 
tion were restored, but Moldavia and Wallachia were to be self- 
governed under the suzerainty of Turkey ; and the sultan agreed 
to give more liberty to his Christian subjects. It was also agreed 
to recognize Turkey as a European power in good standing, and 
the powers pledged themselves to maintain her integrity. Eng- 
land gained from the war little or nothing except experience ; Na- 
poleon greatly strengthened his position in European affairs ; 
Russia lost prestige; Sardinia was recognized as a great power; 
while Turkey gained a position which she had for years sought in 
vain to acquire. Moreover, no provision was made to compel the 
sultan to carry out his promises, a blameworthy omission on the 
part of Great Britain. The real object of the Crimean War was to 
preserve the " Balance of Power " in Europe. This was attained for 
the time, but at very great cost. 

646. Indian Mutiny. 1857-1858. — Again the British had to 
wage a war and one of far greater immediate moment to England 
than that in the Crimea, for it struck at her own power and pos- 
sessions. This was the great Mutiny of 1857 in India. Under 
the administration of Lord Dalhousie (1848-1856) the Punjab 
had been annexed (1848- [849), as also Lower Burma (1852), Oude 

1 See Longfellow's poem, " Santa Fiiomena," written in 1857. 



MUTINY IN INDIA 



50; 



(1856), and other states. Besides this, Dalhousie claimed 
that states whose rulers died without direct heirs lapsed to the 
British, and in this way still more territory was brought under 
British rule. 

It had been the British policy to employ native troops, and they 
had proved good and trustworthy soldiers, but Dalhousie's policy 




A Native Indian Army on the March 

was often irritating to the natives and had alienated many, and 
only slight provocation was needed to stir up a revolt. Many 
British troops had been taken away from India and sent to the 
Crimea, leaving the British-Indian army unusually weak. The 
occasion for revolt was the introduction of a new rifle for the 
army ; the cartridges for this weapon, it was reported, were 
greased with cow's or pig's fat. 1 To the Mohammedan, lard 
was unclean, and to the Hindoo the cow was a sacred animal, and 
hence its use was sacrilege. It was believed that the British were 
purposely attacking their religion, and a mutiny broke out among 
the Sepoys, or native troops, beginning at Delhi and Lucknow, 

1 Honestly denied at the time by government officials, it was afterwards discovered 
to be a fact. 



504 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



and then spreading over central and northern India. There 
were terrible massacres at Cawnpore and elsewhere, and the 
heroic defense of Lucknow against the mutineers has been 
celebrated in prose and verse. At last, in 1858, the mutiny was 
put down, but not until there had been great loss of life and much 
cruelty on both sides. If the natives of the several provinces had 
been united, British rule could hardly have been maintained. One 
result of the mutiny was to take from the East India Company its 
territories, possessions, and executive powers, and vest them in 
the crown. 1 

647. Colonial Expansion ; Australia ; Canada. — Meanwhile, 
more than was appreciated at the time, England's colonial empire 
had been growing and increasing in importance. It is strange 
that neither Gladstone nor Disraeli, keen as they were, foresaw 
what the colonies were to mean to Great Britain. 2 The voyages 
of Captain Cook in the latter part of the eighteenth century dis- 
closed the possibilities in the South Pacific, and other voyages 
and explorations elsewhere revealed a vast amount of territory un- 
claimed by Europeans. England's traditional policy of acquiring 
all that she could lay hold of whether at the time it seemed useful 
or not, and of always holding on to everything, has stood her in 
good stead. 

At first Australia and Tasmania were regarded only as places to 
which to banish criminals. But in time settlements were made 
far from the convict colonies. The real foundation of the 
growth of Australia was the introduction of sheep farming on a 
large scale; and when gold was discovered in 1851, thousands 
rushed to the goldfields as had been the case in California. Self- 
rule was granted to the colonies in Australia, the only strong links 

1 The control was vested in a secretary of state who was to be assisted by a 
council of fifteen. The secretary was to be a member of the cabinet, and in India 
a Viceroy ruled, also assisted by a council. With some modifications this is still 
the form of government. 

2 Lord John Russell was almost the only one of the prominent statesmen up 
to the middle of the nineteenth century who recognized what they might become. 



COLONIAL EXPANSION 505 

being the governor appointed by the crown, and the British 
Privy Council acting as a sort of supreme court of appeal. 

The larger British colonies have been allowed not only legislative 
but also economic independence, so that while free trade has been 
law in Great Britain and Ireland, protection has been allowed in 
the colonies if so they wished. As the colonies have grown in 
importance there has been a tendency toward federation. Thus 
in Canada the plan already described (§ 627) was in 1867 still 
further extended, and the various North American provinces, with 
the exception of Newfoundland, were united into the Dominion 
of Canada. 1 The connection with Great Britain is largely senti- 
mental, but nevertheless is stronger than when the colonies were 
ruled directly by the British crown. The building of the Canadian 
Pacific railroad and the opening for settlement of the fertile lands 
of Manitoba, British Columbia, and other districts in the North- 
west has greatly benefited and strengthened the Dominion. 

The march of events in Australia and in New Zealand has been 
similar to that in Canada ; one colony after another was established, 
until in 1901 all the colonies were united into the Commonwealth 
of Australia, modeled after the Dominion of Canada, though dif- 
fering in details. In New Zealand also the various settlements- 
were in 1875 united into one. 

648. British West Indies. — In the West Indies, however, a 
very different state of affairs has prevailed ; instead of advance 
and prosperity there have been loss and backward rather than 
forward movements. During the Napoleonic wars the French 
and other colonies were at the mercy of England, and she took, 
and, by the treaty of peace, retained such as she wished. Such 
were Tobago, Trinidad, and Guiana (in South America). The 
abolition of negro slavery, the indolence of the tropical negro, and 
also of the whites makes labor a difficult problem. Besides this 

1 The Dominion of Canada has a federal parliament sitting at Ottawa with a 
cabinet responsible to it ; the governor-general is appointed by the crown ; it has 
its own laws and its own tariff. 



506 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



the great increase in the manufacture of beet-root sugar in Europe 
lessened the demand for tropical sugar, and when free trade was 
adopted by England, it opened the home markets to slave-grown 
products and still further injured the British West India planter. 
In a climate where nature provides enough to live on with scarcely 
any work it is exceedingly difficult to get the free negroes to labor 
steadily. To supply the lack of labor, coolies from India were 
imported, a system which has involved serious questions of its 
own, and in the carrying out of which a condition closely ap- 
proaching that of slavery itself resulted. With. so large a propor- 
tion of negroes ignorant and indolent, it is not surprising that the 
white inhabitants of the islands prefer to be governed by the crown, 
and, therefore, in the West Indies we see old-fashioned crown 
colonies with almost absolute rule from England. 1 

649. Cape Colony, 1814; Natal, 1835; Orange Free State, 
1854; Transvaal, 1858. — Another of the important colonies of 
Great Britain is that of the Cape of Good Hope, or Cape Colony, 
often referred to as South Africa. The history of this differs in 
many respects from that of any other of the British colonies. It was 
acquired from the Dutch during the Napoleonic wars, held for 
eight years, and finally confirmed to the British by the Treaty of 
Paris (18 1 4) (§ 603). Settled by the Dutch, it had a large popu- 
lation retaining decidedly Dutch characteristics. But after the 
confirmation of the colony to the English there was a large influx 
of British settlers, who introduced Anglo-Saxon methods and 
enterprise, not greatly to the liking of the old Dutch settlers, or 
Boers, and their descendants. The abolition of slavery in all the 
British dominions was also distasteful to the Boers, and many of 
them migrated northward to find new homes for themselves in the 
wilderness. Thus was founded Natal (1835), the Orange Free 
State (1854), and the Transvaal or South African Republic (1858). 

l The proportion of whites to colored in all of the islands is very small. In the 
Leeward Islands the numbers are: whites, 5070; colored, 122,653 (1891) ; Jamaica, 
whites, 15,605; colored and other races, 815,778 (1911). 



ENGLAND AND THE UNITED STATES 



507 



These South African states were weak and had much trouble with 
the native tribes. These difficulties affected the neighboring 
British settlers also, and England interfered from time to time. 
In 1843 she annexed Natal. 

650. Death of Prince Albert; American Civil War. 1861- 
1865. — In 1861 Queen Victoria and the country also met with a 
severe loss in the death of the Prince Consort, Prince Albert. 




Windsor Castle 



An event of the deepest interest to Great Britain and her Amer- 
ican dependencies was the Civil War in the United States (1861- 
1865). Eleven of the Southern slaveholding states soon after the 
election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency by a non-slavery 
party, believing that it meant the downfall of slavery and hence 
was ruinous to their interests, passed acts of secession from the 
Union. The British government proclaimed that Great Britain 
would remain neutral, but the British cabinet and most of the 
upper classes believed that a permanent Southern Confederacy 
would certainly be established, and did not conceal their sympathy 
with the South. 1 The working classes and neady all the radical 
classes were equally strong in their support of the North. 

1 Even such a man as Gladstone believed in the final success of the South ; Dis- 
raeli, his great Conservative competitor, held different views, and John Bright, 
Cobden, the Duke of Argyll, and some others were strongly on the side of the 
North and predicted its success. 



508 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

651. The Trent Affair. 1 86 1. —The commercial interests of 
Great Britain in the American conflict were large. From America 
came, with exceptions too trifling to name, the supplies for her 
great cotton mills ; and her carrying trade with America was 
extensive. The blockade of the Southern ports by the United 
States meant an absolute stoppage of all this. An unexpected 
incident nearly brought the two nations to actual war. The Con- 
federate government dispatched two commissioners, Mason and 
Slidell, to seek aid for the South in Europe. While on their way 
thither Captain Charles Wilkes, an American naval officer, stopped 
the British steamer Trent, upon which they were passengers, and 
took them off. Great Britain demanded their return on the 
ground that the act of Wilkes was contrary to international law. 
The people of the North, irritated by the open sympathy of so 
many in England with the South, applauded Wilkes, while in Eng- 
land the feeling against America was strong. For a time war 
seemed inevitable. Happily wiser counsels prevailed. A per- 
emptory and somewhat arrogant dispatch to America prepared 
by Lord John Russell, and sent to the queen for her approval, 
was by the efforts of Prince Albert and herself so modified that 
the United States government could easily get out of the dif- 
ficulty by acknowledging that the act of Wilkes had not been 
authorized by the government. President Lincoln recognized 
that Wilkes had acted contrary to the whole practice of the 
United States, and in fact was doing what she had fought against 
in the War of 1812. He was, therefore, more than ready to order 
the return of the two men and to make the statement that the 
action was wholly unauthorized by the government. So peace 
was secured. 

652. British Blockade Runners and Confederate Cruisers ; 
Cotton Famine. — The North had, however, serious complaints 
against the British government in that it was slack in preventing 
the equipment and departure of vessels intended to prey upon 
American commerce and to run the blockade of the Southern 



GLADSTONE THE LIBERAL LEADER 



509 



ports which the North maintained. 1 Another result which touched 
the English more closely was the cotton famine in Lancashire. 
Owing to the impossibility of obtaining cotton, the large factories 
in Lancashire and elsewhere had to be closed, throwing thousands 
out of employment and bringing upon them destitution and suf- 
fering. The efforts of the 
charitable to relieve this 
suffering and the method 
of the distribution of the 
funds form one of the 
most pleasing incidents in 
social history. 2 

653. Death of Palmer- 
ston ; Gladstone the Lib- 
eral Leader. 1865. — 
Lord Palmerston died in 
1865, over eighty years 
old, having occupied a 
prominent position in 
English public life longer 
than any predecessor of 
equal rank, and only sur- 
passed in later years by Gladstone. From this time Gladstone 
definitely ranked himself as a Liberal. The program of each of 
the parties was much changed from what it had been in the past. 
The aim of the Liberals was to extend the franchise and make 
England more democratic; while that of the Conservatives was 
that in any extension of the suffrage the right should be so guarded 
that the real power should still rest with the upper and wealthier 

1 The most celebrated of the Confederate cruisers thus built was the Alabama, 
whose depredations, with those of other similar vessels, gave rise to the "Alabama 
claims." 

2 It is remarkable that, notwithstanding the sufferings of the operatives, they never 
faltered in their sympathy for the cause of the Northern States, which they believed 
to be the cause of freedom. 




William Ewart Gladstone 



5io 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



classes. They believed in a large empire, a strong army and navy, 
and a strong foreign policy. The word used more than any other 
to express their general policy was " imperialism." 

654. Reform Bills. 1866, 1867. — Lord John Russell, now 
Earl Russell, became prime minister. As in 1832, the reform of 
Parliament became the issue before the country. A bill for this 
purpose was introduced by the Liberal cabinet (1866), but by the 
defection of some of their party, who feared so radical a measure, 
the government was defeated, and the Conservatives, under the 
lead of the Earl of Derby, came into power. Disraeli, the leader 
in the Commons, introduced a new Reform Bill, which passed after 
being amended so much on lines recommended by Gladstone 
that it was really more a Liberal than a Conservative measure. 1 
Not only was the suffrage widely extended by the lowering of 
the requirements for an elector, but there was a redistribution 
of the seats so that the representation was somewhat fairer ; but 
though by this act the working men of the cities were enfranchised, 
the miners and agricultural laborers were still without the ballot. 

655. Disraeli Prime Minister, 1868; Fenians; Irish Griev- 
ances. — In 1868 the Earl of Derby resigned, owing to ill health, 
and Disraeli attained the height of his ambition in becoming Prime 
Minister (1868). In the meantime Irish affairs claimed the atten- 
tion of the country. About 1863 some Irish and Irish-Americans 
started a secret society, known as the Fenians, for the aid of their 
countrymen. The real object was to set up an independent Irish 
republic. To bring about this result, attempts were made to rescue 
Fenian prisoners, risings took place in Ireland, and there were 
other acts of violence, all of which were unsuccessful. The Liberals 
e:poused the cause of Ireland, and Gladstone in a public speech 
stated the grievances of Ireland to be three — the established 
Episcopal church ; the system of land tenure ; and the system of 
education. As the Conservatives had not a real majority in the 

1 The Liberals did not oppose the bill but offered amendments, many of which 
were accepted by the House. 



REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES 5 I I 

Commons, Gladstone was able to carry a resolution declaring that 
the Irish Episcopal church should be disestablished. Whereupon 
Parliament was dissolved and a general election under the new Re- 
form Bill took place and the Liberals gained a large majority. 

656. Gladstone Prime Minister, 1869 ! Disestablishment of 
Irish Church, 1869. — When Disraeli found his party in the 
minority, he took the unprecedented step of resigning before the 
new Parliament met. 1 The queen sent for Gladstone, who now 
became prime minister, and on the meeting of Parliament he at 
once introduced a bill for the disestablishment and disendowment 
of the Irish Episcopal church, which, after a long debate and con- 
test with the House of Lords, was passed (1869). "The result 
has more than justified the supporters of the bill. The disestab- 
lished church has been more prosperous, and also more clerical, 
than it ever was before." On the other hand, Ireland was not as 
much affected as might have been expected, for her greatest griev- 
ances did not lie in church matters, but in the land laws. 

657. Irish Land Act, 1870; English Education Act, 1870. — 
A strong effort was made to remedy some of the evils of the land 
system of Ireland by the Irish Land Act of 1870. But while 
effecting some improvement, the act was not radical enough, for 
it left many loopholes for evasion. 2 

Another important measure of reform was that relating to edu- 
cation. At this time elementary education in England was much 
inferior to that in Prussia, the United States, or Switzerland. The 
extension of the franchise in 1867 made the matter of educa- 
tion a vital one. 3 That the Elementary Education Act of 1870 

1 The precedent set by Disraeli has been followed since, and seems a common 
sense arrangement. 

2 The main purpose of the act was to prevent landlords from turning out ten- 
ants as long as they paid their rent, and to compel landlords to pay for improve- 
ments that a tenant had placed upon the property, if he were evicted from the land. 
Such a course had long been the right of the Ulster tenants and was known as the 
Ulster Tenant Right. 

8 " In 1869 out of about 4,300,000 children within the school age, 2,000,000 
ought to have been at school and were not." 



5 12 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



was brought forward and pressed to a conclusion was chiefly due 
to William Edward Forster, a member of Gladstone's cabinet. 
By this act districts were allowed to choose a school board, levy 
rates (taxes) for education, and compel children to be sent to 
school. This act marks the beginning of a really national system 
of education, for heretofore education had been practically de- 
pendent on private efforts or on societies formed by private effort. 

658. Repeal of University Tests, 187 1 ; Other Reforms. — An- 
other step in educational reform was the opening of the universi- 
ties of Oxford and Cambridge to all without religious tests, thus 
allowing Nonconformists, Catholics, Jews, and others to avail 
themselves of the highest educational advantages (1871). 

With their large majority the Liberals were able to pass other 
reform measures. The army regulations were improved, but 
the Lords declined to agree to a proposed abolition of the 
purchase of commissions in the army, whereupon Gladstone 
abolished the system by royal warrant. 1 

Other reforms were the Ballot Act (1872), by which it was 
provided that future elections for members of Parliament should 
be by secret ballot. Hitherto the old custom of viva voce 
elections had prevailed, but the great enlargement of the fran- 
chise made that method undesirable, not only on account of the 
time it took, but still more because of the greater opportunity 
it gave for bribing and undue influence. 

659. Liberal Foreign Policy; Alabama Claims, 1872; Arbi- 
tration. — The foreign policy of the government was based on 
neutrality and non-interference, and so gave offense to the im- 
perialists. In 1870 war broke out between Prussia and France 
in which France was disastrously defeated, resulting in the down- 

1 The system of the purchase of commissions in the army had been established 
by a royal warrant of Charles II, but was discontinued by William III; it was 
again established by warrant. It was held that what had been established by 
warrant could be removed by warrant. The Lords were opposed to the measure 
because purchase was an easy way for them to secure employment for their 
younger sons, for whom trade was considered undignified. 



REFORMS AND ARBITRATION 



513 



fall of the Empire and the setting up of the Third Republic, and 
also in the establishment of the German Empire, of which King 
William of Prussia became emperor. Italian unity was estab- 
lished by the destruction of the temporal power of the Pope, 
and Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. Russia, 
while these events were taking place, announced that she would 
no longer be bound by the Treaty of 1856 regarding the Black 
Sea (§ 645), but would keep war vessels in those waters if she 
wished. England did not consider the matter important enough 
to fight about, and so one of the measures for which the expensive 
Crimean War was waged came to naught. 

Another and more important feature of the foreign policy of 
the Liberal government was the submission of the Alabama 
claims (§ 652) of the United States to arbitration. The tribunal 
which was appointed awarded to the United States damages of 
more than three million pounds sterling. Other matters at issue 
between the two governments also referred to arbitration were 
the Newfoundland fishery claims and the question regarding the 
extreme northwestern boundary between Canada and the United 
States, all of which were settled. This first instance in history 
of two great nations settling difficult and important questions 
peaceably and harmoniously reflects great credit on both, espe- 
cially upon Great Britain and her government. 1 It set an example 
to other nations, and has done much to help the cause of inter- 
national peace. 

660. Other Reforms ; Liberal Defeat. 1874. — Another use- 
ful measure was the Licensing Act, shortening the hours during 
which drink could be sold. 2 

An Education Act for Scotland was also passed (1872), follow- 

1 The award for the Alabama claims was felt by the English to be excessive, but 
was paid promptly. On the other hand the award to Great Britain for the fishery 
claims was regarded by the Americans as excessive, but it too was paid promptly, 
and thus the two were a set-off against each other. 

2 This was the first effort of a British government to regulate the sale of intoxi- 
cating liquors in towns. 



514 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

ing as a matter of course from the passage of the English Act 
of 1870. A bill providing higher education for Ireland was 
defeated, and Gladstone resigned, but as Disraeli refused to 
form a cabinet, Gladstone resumed office. In January, 1874, 
Parliament was dissolved. In the elections which followed, the 
Conservatives gained a good majority, and Gladstone, following 
Disraeli's precedent, resigned, and Disraeli became Prime Minister 
again. 

661. Purchase of Suez Canal Shares. 1875. — Not since 1832 
had the Conservatives had so large a majority upon which they 
could rely as now. The main interest of the Liberals had been 
in domestic matters ; that of Disraeli and his colleagues were in 
foreign affairs. Attention, however, was first turned to India, 
where Disraeli believed he could advance the cause of imperial- 
ism. By the opening of the Suez canal in 1869 the voyage to 
India was shortened nearly one half and the canal became of vast 
importance to Great Britain, and its control almost essential. 
This canal was under the joint control of France, whose engineer 
De Lesseps had constructed it, and the Khedive of Egypt, 
through whose possessions it went. Disraeli suddenly bought for 
England the shares in the canal owned by the khedive, amount- 
ing to nearly one half, for ^£5,000,000, thus practically controlling 
it. Much credit is due to Disraeli for seizing the opportunity to 
secure a possession so valuable to the British government. 1 

662. India ; Victoria Empress of India. — In order to stir up 
an imperial feeling in India the Prince of Wales was sent out in 
1875. He was received with demonstrations of loyalty. In 
1876 Lord Lytton, a man in thorough sympathy with Disraeli's 
imperialistic views, was appointed viceroy. Since the mutiny 
many railroads had been constructed in India, which not only 
rendered communication easier and more rapid for commercial 

1 The khedive was practically bankrupt and had almost concluded a bargain for 
the sale of his shares in France when Disraeli heard of it and stepped in and 
secured them. Though a heavy expense at first, in the end the investment became 
an exceedingly profitable one. 



FOREIGN AFFAIRS 



515 



undertakings, but were invaluable for the quick transport of troops. 
The Suez canal by shortening the time for transportation had 
greatly increased the British trade with India and brought the 
countries closer together. To extend still further his imperial 
policy, Disraeli in 1876 passed the Royal Titles Bill, which gave the 




Md 







The Houses of Parliament built in 1852 

queen the additional title of Empress of India, and on May 1, 1876, 
she was formally proclaimed by that title in London, and on Janu- 
ary 1, 1877, w i tn pomp and ceremony, in Delhi, India 1 (§ 684). 

663. Foreign Affairs; Turkey, 1878; Egypt; Conservative 
Defeat, 1880. — Foreign affairs now took on a serious aspect. 
A war between Russia and Turkey broke out, and before long 
Russia was marching on Constantinople. Again the cry of injury 
to India and British interests was raised. Disraeli sent a fleet to 
the East and hurried Indian troops to Malta, and war seemed 
imminent. But Russia, having no wish to be involved in another 
war with England, made terms with Turkey in the Treaty of San 
Stefano (1878). « 

1 Though it was stated that this new title would only be used in Indian docu- 
ments, before a year the queen used it in English documents as well, and in 1893 
it was put upon the British coinage. 



5 l6 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

Meantime Disraeli had become the Earl of Beaconsfield ; and 
Lord Salisbury, the foreign minister, notified the Russian gov- 
ernment that the Treaty of San Stefano would not be accepted by 
Great Britain. A message from Austria, whose dominions bordered 
on those of Turkey, took the same ground, and a European coun- 
cil was called to meet at Berlin to settle the Eastern Question. 
This congress met in 1878, and the Treaty of Berlin was framed 
and signed. The Berlin Congress somewhat resembled the Con- 
gress of Vienna (§ 603) in the way it settled the affairs of the 
various countries without the slightest reference to the wishes 
of those most nearly concerned. Meantime, England received 
from Turkey the island of Cyprus on condition of her protecting 
Asia Minor. Though Turkey was shorn of a good deal of her 
territory, on the whole she came out of the struggle very well and 
retained her place as one of the European great powers. 

In 1879 Beaconsfield, in connection with France, set up a dual 
control in Egypt, both countries being largely interested in the 
financial concerns of that country, which was bankrupt. 

The Conservatives, who had been in power five years or more, 
had given their attention almost wholly to foreign affairs, laying 
themselves open to the charge of neglecting home interests, a 
position of which the Liberals, particularly Mr. Gladstone, took 
advantage. Parliament was dissolved (1880), and in a subsequent 
election the Liberals had a large majority. Disraeli, 1 as before, 
resigned, and Gladstone again became prime minister. 

664. Home Affairs ; South Africa ; Ireland; "Boycotting." — 
The policy of Gladstone was " peace abroad, and retrenchment 
and reform at home." Trouble with Afghanistan and with the 
Boers in Africa (§ 649), an inheritance from the last administra- 
tion, occupied the serious attention of the new ministers. In the 
former case a severe blow was inflicted on Afghanistan. 

The Transvaal Republic (§ 649), recognized by Great Britain 

1 Lord Beaconsfield died. in 1881 at the age of 77. He was mourned by the 
queen as a personal friend. 



AFFAIRS IN AFRICA AND IN IRELAND 



517 



in 1852, had not been prosperous, and in 1877 anarchy very 
nearly prevailed within, while the warlike Zulus, under an able 
chief, Cetewayo, threatened destruction from without. Claiming 
that the disorder in the Transvaal endangered the peace of all South 
Africa, the British annexed the republic, in spite of a deputation 
from the Boers praying for their independence. The British now 
attacked the Zulus, and conquering them with no little difficulty, 
annexed Zululand. Freed from their native enemies, the Boers 
planned to regain their freedom from the hated British rule. A 
rebellion broke out (1880), in the course of which a small body 
of British was defeated at Majuba Hill (188 1). 

Gladstone, now in office, having been satisfied that the annexa- 
tion of 1877 had been made on the false information that it was 
desired by the majority of the people, was already preparing to 
grant the Transvaal practical independence. This was done 
(March, 1881). The action of the British government was actu- 
ated by a sense of justice, but, coming as it did soon after the 
Boers' victory of Majuba Hill, it led the Boers to believe that the 
concession was gained by the victory at Majuba instead of be- 
stowed in spite of it. The impression was thus conveyed that 
armed resistance would at any time be successful. 

Ireland occupied the chief thoughts of the government. In 
1 88 1 a new Land Act was passed, extending the provisions of 
that of 1870 (§ 657), but it had little effect, for the Irish were 
seeking Home Rule, nothing short of which would be acceptable. 
Under the leadership of Charles Stewart Parnell, 1 who led eighty 
of the Irish members in Parliament, every effort was made to 
bring this about by the use of all possible parliamentary obstruc- 
tive tactics. Outside of Parliament every kind of means was em- 
ployed to further the cause. An Irish National Land League 
was founded (1879), whose object at first was to protect tenants 

1 Parnell (1846-1891) was an Irishman, son of an American mother, and a non- 
Catholic. He was the ablest supporter of the Irish cause of his day, and a man of 
extraordinary personal influence. 



5 l8 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

against unjust rent, but afterwards to secure peasant proprietor- 
ship of the land. 1 Among the methods used to further the objects 
of the League was boycotting, a word which was now used for 
the first time. 2 Unfortunately peaceful means were not always 
used ; cattle of obnoxious landlords were mutilated, barns were 
burnt, and worse still, landlords were shot at and some were killed. 
Agents were threatened by anonymous letters, graves were dug 
before their houses, and any one who dared to take a farm from 
which a former tenant had been evicted, did so at the risk of 
his life. 

665. Irish Coercion Act, 1881 ; Phoenix Park Murders, 1882. 
— There seemed little to do but pass another Coercion Act (1881), 
but this only made matters in Ireland worse. At last a milder 
policy was tried. A bill favoring the smaller Irish tenants was 
passed. Irish affairs seemed nearer settlement in May, 1882, than 
perhaps ever before, when the brutal murder in Phoenix Park, 
Dublin, of Lord Frederick Cavendish, the newly appointed secre- 
tary for Ireland, and T. H. Burke, the permanent under-secretary, 
ruined the fair prospect. This dastardly crime, disowned by the 
Irish leaders, was the work of those called " Irreconcilables," who 
wished to destroy any possibility of reconciliation with England. 
A Prevention of Crimes Bill was quickly passed through Parlia- 
ment, and in order to put an end to factious obstruction in the 
Commons new rules giving the speaker power to close debates 
were adopted. 

666. Reform Acts; Foreign Affairs; Egypt, 1882. — The 
government was able to carry out several measures of reform in 
Great Britain : the game preserve regulations were slightly relaxed 
by allowing farmers to kill hares and rabbits which injured their 

1 Parnell's own definition of the Irish Land Question was, " Abolish landlordism, 
and make the man who occupies and cultivates the soil the owner of the soil. - ' 

2 Captain Boycott was an Englishman, an agent for an English landlord, who 
declined to receive the rent which the tenants considered " fair " ; and when he 
proceeded to eject the tenants, his servants left him, local tradesmen would not deal 
with him, and he was unable to harvest the crops of his principal. 



REFORM ACTS 



5'9 



crops ; an Employers' Liability Act protected workmen against 
negligence by their employers ; the Bankruptcy laws were im- 
proved; and Nonconformists were allowed to use churchyards of 
the established church for burials. Before the ministry went out 
of office it passed a Franchise Bill (1884) and a Redistribution 
Bill (1885), enlarging the electoral franchise and giving practically 
household suffrage. 1 

The government was severely criticised for its foreign policy. 
Afghanistan had been abandoned, and the settlement in South 
Africa already referred to was unpopular, but the climax was 
reached in Egypt. The dual control of France and England 
(§ 663) was greatly disliked by many of the Egyptians, and a 
rebellion headed by Arabi Bey was set on foot. France would 
not interfere, and England was left to meet the troubles single- 
handed. English residents were killed in Alexandria and this 
brought about a bombardment by the British fleet. Troops were 
sent from England under General Wolseley, and he defeated Arabi 
Bey at Tel-el-Kebir (1882). 

667. Trouble in the Sudan, 1883- 1885; Death of General 
Gordon, 1885. — The tribes to the south of Egypt, in the district 
known as the Sudan, revolted and threw off the rule of the 
khedive, under the leadership of a fanatical chief, Mohammed 
Ahmed, known as the Mahdi or Mussulman Messiah. 

The British government resolved to abandon the Sudan, and 
early in 1884 General Charles Gordon was sent out to arrange 
for the withdrawing of the garrisons, a plan which he approved. 
He had been governor of the Sudan under the Egyptian govern- 
ment and was supposed to know the country better than any 
other Englishman. On his arrival at Khartum in the Sudan 

1 The Franchise Bill increased the number of voters from about 3,000,000 to 
about 5,000,000, and put vvorkingmen in the counties on the same footing as those 
in towns. By the Redistribution Bill a much fairer representation was given to 
towns and manufacturing districts; to London, for instance, were assigned 61 mem- 
bers instead of 22. Though the population of Ireland had decreased, its represen- 
tation was unchanged. 



520 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



he disregarded instructions and provided for the retention of 
the Sudan. This action placed the English cabinet in an ex- 
ceedingly difficult position, and it hesitated and delayed. The 
Mahdi's troops besieged Khartum, the city was betrayed and 
Gordon was killed only two days before the British troops ar- 
rived. Few events have aroused such feeling in England. The 
queen did not restrain her anger and never forgave Gladstone ; 
and the government was severely blamed for its dilatoriness. 1 

668. Gladstone Prime Minister the Third Time (1885) ; 
Irish Home Rule Bill. — The Liberals were defeated on a 
financial measure (1885) and resigned. The Conservatives, 
with the Marquis of Salisbury at their head, held the reins till 
a new election, under the new Reform Bill, by which the Liberals 
were returned to power with a majority of eighty-six over the 
Conservatives, and Gladstone became Prime Minister for the third 
time. 

The results, however, were not satisfactory to either party, for 
the balance of power was held by eighty-six Irish Home Rulers 
under the leadership of Parnell. Mr. Gladstone had come to 
the conclusion that there were but two courses to be followed: 
Home Rule for Ireland, or Coercion. He was unalterably op- 
posed to the latter, and so declared for Home Rule. 2 Early 
in the session of the new Parliament he introduced his first Home 
Rule Bill. 3 This measure divided the Liberal party, and nearly 
one hundred Liberal members, calling themselves Liberal-Union- 

1 Charles George Gordon has been called the Galahad of the nineteenth century. 
He was " disinterested, highminded, saintly, noble, and pure," but like many such 
characters, he was a law unto himself ; he must act absolutely in accord with what 
seemed right to him at the time, regardless of others or of consequences. It is 
impossible for such a man to act under orders, and a careful examination of the 
facts can hardly fail to show that he brought his fate upon himself. But this fact 
does not acquit the government of serious blame. 

2 Subsequent events have justified Gladstone's opinion. 

3 The provisions of the bill are too complicated to give, but in general it was 
proposed to give Ireland an independent Parliament, a local executive, and shut 
her out from representation in the imperial Parliament, which body, however, 
was to have a specified control over the Irish legislation and measures. 



IRISH HOME RULE BILL 



521 



ists, joined the Conservatives in voting against the measure and 
bringing about its defeat. 

669. Conservatives in Power; Victoria's Jubilee. 1887. — At 
the new election the Conservatives and Liberal-Unionists com- 
bined had a majority of more than one hundred over the Liberals 
and Irish Nationalists. As Mr. Gladstone was committed to 
Home Rule, the cabinet at once resigned, and the Marquis of 
Salisbury became Prime Minister for the second time. 

The new government, seeing the need of conciliation, passed 
several measures of relief for Ireland, and that island became un- 
usually quiet. This, however, was not wholly due to legislation, 
but to divisions in the Irish party owing to grave personal charges 
against Mr. Parnell. 

Measures were passed extending to the government of the 
counties the principle of the laws regarding local municipal cor- 
porations and placing the choice of most county officers in the 
local rate (tax) payers instead of the crown or aristocracy. 

A most interesting event in which all parties united was the 
celebration in 1887 of the fiftieth anniversary of the accession of 
Victoria. 

670. Gladstone Fourth Time Prime Minister, 1892 ; Second 
Home Rule Bill. 1893. — In the general election of 1892 the Con- 
servatives were defeated, but the Liberals again were dependent 
on the Irish vote. Gladstone for the fourth time became prime 
minister and soon introduced his second Home Rule Bill, which 
after considerable amendment and a long debate marked by 
such scenes of disorder as had not been before witnessed in the 
House, was finally carried by a majority of thirty-four. The Lords 
were bitterly opposed to any Home Rule Bill, and defeated it 
by a vote of 419 to 41. 

671. Resignation of Gladstone, 1894; His Death. 1898. — In 
March, 1894, Gladstone, now eighty-four years old, and with de- 
fective hearing and eyesight, resigned as prime minister. With all 
his limitations he was one of England's greatest statesmen ; he had 



522 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



been in public life for sixty years and for nearly half that period a 
great leader. His unblemished public and private life, his deeply 
religious character, his sympathy with the oppressed, his complete 
devotion to the welfare of his country, and his great abilities have 
given him a high place in British history. Mr. Gladstone died in 












Westminster Abbey 



1898, was given a public funeral, and was buried in Westminster 
Abbey, where a fine statue commemorates him. 1 

672. Lord Rosebery Prime Minister, 1894; Salisbury Prime 
Minister, 1895; Unionists. — After the retirement of Gladstone 
the queen exercised her prerogative in sending for Lord Rosebery, 
who became Prime Minister. The fact of his being in the Lords 
was a serious objection to a party whose field of action is emphat- 
ically in the Commons. In 1895 the government was defeated on 

1 Though he had always stood up for the royal family, so deeply did the queen 
dislike his political views, that when he came officially to resign his office and bid 
farewell, she expressed no regret at the close of his long service and treated him 
with coldness, neither did she, as was usual, consult him as to his successor. It was 
an exhibition of pettiness which ill became her. On the occasion of his death the 
queen sent a message of sympathy to his wife, adroitly avoiding any commendation 
of his public services. 



TERRITORIAL EXPANSION 523 

a minor measure, the ministry resigned, and Lord Salisbury became 
prime minister for the third time. Parliament was dissolved, and 
at the new elections the Unionist government received a majority 
of more than one hundred and fifty. The Unionists were led in 
the Commons by Arthur J. Balfour, a nephew of the prime min- 
ister, Lord Salisbury. 

673. Armenian Massacres, 1S96; Venezuela Boundary Dis- 
pute. 1895-1896.- — -The chief attention of the cabinet was given 
to foreign affairs. The Eastern Question was revived by the 
atrocities wrought by the Turks against their Armenian subjects. 
These aroused the deepest feeling in England. As no other power 
would join her, England declined to interfere, as she did also in 
the somewhat similar case of Crete. 

Still another difficult problem confronted the Government in 
1895, when President Cleveland of the United States sent a 
warlike message to the American Congress in regard to a dis- 
pute regarding the boundaries between Venezuela and British 
Guiana, in which he made a blunt application of the Monroe Doc- 
trine, claiming that the United States had a right to settle the dis- 
pute. Fortunately, after long negotiations, the matter was 
referred to arbitration, by which the British claims were prac- - 
tically affirmed. 1 

674. Territorial Expansion; Partition of Africa. — Another far 
more threatening problem was the South African one. About 1880 
all the European nations began to pay closer attention to coloniza- 
tion. This was caused to a great extent by the increased facilities for 
communication and for the transportation of commodities. Great 
Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and Italy were each seeking to 
extend its own " sphere of influence," as it was called. The fields 
less occupied than any other were Africa and the huge but weak 
empire of China, and upon these the great nations cast longing eyes. 

1 The matter was referred to the arbitration of two British and two United States 
judges, presided over by the Russian jurist, Professor de Martens. A unanimous 
award was rendered in October, 1899. 



5 2 4 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



The scramble for Africa soon began, and every nation seized 
what it could. It was a repetition of the colonial history of the 
seventeenth century. A comparison between a map of Africa in 
1880 and Africa in 1900 is most instructive. By the latter date 
France not only had Algeria, her old colony, but claimed a good 
part of western Africa north of the equator ; Germany held large 
tracts in east and southwest Africa ; Portugal, possessions east and 
west ; Italy, a strip south of Abyssinia ; while Great Britain, in addi- 
tion to her older colonies, had greatly increased her sphere of con- 
trol. Even by 1898, except Morocco, the Kingdom of Abyssinia, 
and Liberia, there was scarcely a foot of the continent, even if it 
were nominally called free, that was not either absolutely in the 
possession of some European power or under its influence. 

Besides the African territories, France had possessions in the 
East, Germany had gained a foothold in the South Pacific, and 
Russia by the construction of the Trans-Siberian railway was 
stretching eastward with designs on China, and was also scheming 
to gain part of Persia, and to anticipate England in the lands be- 
yond her Indian frontier. 

675. South Africa; Cecil Rhodes. 1888-1890. — It is evident 
that under such conditions foreign affairs would hold no slight 
place in British counsels. Countries were not quite so ready to 
go to war as previously, though there is little doubt that it was 
rather on account of the great expense of military measures and 
the uncertainty whether the people in the different countries would 
stand the great increase in taxation which would be needful. Be- 
tween 1885 and 1889, during which time most of the partition of 
Africa had taken place, no war had been waged on that account, 
something which could hardly have happened fifty years earlier. 

But soon Great Britain had to face a most serious trouble in South 
Africa. The events which led up to the settlement of 188 1 (§§ 649, 
664) have been mentioned. Soon after this, gold was discovered 
in the Transvaal, and at once large numbers of men set out for the 
gold fields, introducing a new element into the country of the 



AFFAIRS IN SOUTH AFRICA 



525 



Boers, and one particularly irritating to the slow, conservative 
Dutch nature. Though profiting by the gold fields and the attend- 
ant increase of material wealth, the Boers carefully excluded the 
newcomers from any share in the government. 

The discovery of rich diamond fields, and the formation of a 




A Boer Trek 



British South African Company under the leadership of Cecil 
Rhodes, an Englishman who had acquired an enormous fortune 
through the diamond mines, was another grievance, for the lands 
under its control not only prevented the Boers from extending 
their own boundaries, but increased the number of irritating immi- 
grants. In 1890 Cecil Rhodes used his power and influence to in- 
crease British power in South Africa. The large territory north of 
the Transvaal, known later as Rhodesia, was opened to settlement. 
676. British " Uitlanders '' ; Jamesons Raid. 1895-1896. — 
The immigrants, called by the Boers Uitlanders (Foreigners), became 
greatly dissatisfied with their position, claiming that, though com- 
pelled to pay heavy taxes to the Boers, they had no voice in the 



526 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

government, as the period of naturalization was unjustly extended. 
The President of the Transvaal, Paul Kruger, an able man, but 
conservative and hard to move, was reelected in 1895, and the 
old policy continued. The Uitlanders were provoked at this and 
resolved to better their situation. Rhodes and his party sympa- 
thized with them, and it was agreed to attempt to overthrow the 
Boer government by force. One of the chief men in this plan 
was Dr. Jameson, the administrator of Rhodesia (Mashonaland). 
On his own responsibility he crossed the border into the Trans- 
vaal with 600 men, avowedly to protect women and children 
against ill-usage by the Boers. He and his men were easily over- 
powered, taken prisoners, and finally handed over to the British 
authorities for punishment. 

The result of Jameson's raid was to make the Uitlanders 1 position 
more intolerable, while the Boers believed that the British govern- 
ment knew of the raid and approved of it. Thus a strong race 
feeling was stirred up throughout South Africa, where the large 
population of Dutch descent sympathized with the Boers. Rhodes 
resigned his position as prime minister of Cape Colony, and 
the Dutch party for the time being was in the ascendancy in 
Cape Colony. 1 Meantime much feeling was aroused in England. 

677. Difficulties in South Africa. 1896-1899. — The Boers, in 
preparation for a struggle with Great Britain, began to import arms 
and ammunition, and entered into negotiations with the Orange 
Free State to secure it as an ally. The British continued to extend 
their influence, railroads were built, and the scheme of Cecil 
Rhodes to connect Egypt and the Cape of Good Hope by a 
" Cape to Cairo " railroad no longer seemed an absurdity. Mean- 
time various efforts were made by the English to make some sat- 
isfactory arrangement with the Boers, but without avail. 

1 Jameson and his officers were handed over to the British and sent to England 
for trial. They were sentenced to imprisonment. The leaders of the Uitlanders 
who aided Jameson were sentenced to death by the Boers, but these sentences 
were commuted to heavy fines. Rhodes was severely censured by a Parliamen- 
tary committee, but nothing was done against him. 



THE BOER WAR 



5 2 7 



The condition was one of extreme difficulty. The Uitlanders 
now outnumbered the Boers, and furnished a large part of the 
revenue of the state, and yet were not only kept from the fran- 
chise, but were also subjected to many restrictions irritating to 
men of the Anglo-Saxon race. On the other hand, the Boers, 
who had settled the country, and had lived there many years, 
were surrounded by men in large groups who were uncongenial in 
every way and who threatened by their very numbers to change the 
whole character of the state. The Boers knew little of the outer 
world and recognized neither how great had been the advance in 
every way nor the practical impossibility of fixity in social and 
political affairs. 

678. British Ultimatum; Boers choose War. 1899. — In 
September, 1899, Joseph Chamberlain, the British Colonial Sec- 
retary, sent an ultimatum to the Boers, to which President Kruger 
of the Transvaal sent a reply demanding that the British troops 
should be withdrawn from the boundary of the republic and that 
all reinforcements should be sent back. On the refusal of the 
British even to discuss such a proposition, the Boers began active 
warlike measures and were joined by the Orange Free State, 
which, though it had no direct quarrel with England, united with 
the Transvaal in defense, as they believed, of Dutch freedom in 
South Africa. 

Like the American Revolution, the war was begun with little 
knowledge 011 either side of the real conditions and of the char- 
acter of the opposing combatant. The English believed that, like 
so many of their colonial wars, it would soon be ended, and with 
comparative ease ; while the Boers did not recognize the fact that 
where national character and national reputation were at stake 
the British were as stubborn as themselves. The Boers also 
expected that foreign nations jealous of England would un- 
doubtedly interfere. 

679. The South African War. 1899-1902. — The war began 
in October, 1899, with the invasion of Natal by the Boers. The 



528 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

British cabinet was unprepared, and the early months of the con- 
flict were disastrous for the British arms. An army was shut up 
in Ladysmith, forces were besieged in Kimberly and Mafeking, 
and other bodies of British troops were defeated. The news of 
these disasters roused an intense feeling in Great Britain, and 
many who disapproved of the action of the government gave their 
support on account of national pride. Great numbers of troops 
were sent out, the inefficient generals were superseded, and Lord 
Roberts, who had shown great skill in an Afghan war, and Sir 
Herbert, later Lord Kitchener, who had been successful in the 
Sudan (§ 680), took charge. Owing much to the character of 
the country and partly to fever among the troops, the cause of 
the British prevailed slowly, but after a heroic resistance the Boers 
were subdued, but not without great loss of life on both sides. 

There were probably not more than 60,000 fighting men in the 
two republics, and yet it took Great Britain more than two years 
and an army of 250,000 men to conquer. The Boers showed an 
amount of courage, skill, and endurance that roused the admira- 
tion of the world. Many in both Europe and America openly 
sympathized with them, and efforts were made to get the United 
States to mediate, but Great Britain refused, saying that the gov- 
ernment did " not propose to accept the intervention of any power 
in the South African War." Peace was not established until 
June 1, 1902, when the two Boer republics were formally incor- 
porated with the British Empire. 1 

680. English Occupation of Egypt; The Sudan. 1898. — 
Meantime affairs in Egypt were progressing favorably under 
British administration. Through the practically despotic rule of 

1 In England there was a respectable minority who attacked the course of the 
government and when war came did not hesitate to denounce it. These men were 
called " Pro-Boers " and received from the press and from the majority much 
harsh and abusive criticism, and on more than one occasion " Pro-Boers " were 
hardly treated by rioters. It has been estimated that Great Britain lost 20,000 
lives and 100,000 men disabled by wounds and disease. The money cost of the 
war was more than ,£200,000,000 of which ^160,000,000 became part of the national 
debt. 



ENGLAND IN EGYPT AND CHINA 



5 2 9 



Sir Evelyn Baring, later created Lord Cromer, order had been 
brought out of chaos, and prosperity out of bankruptcy. So far 
as material affairs were concerned Egypt had not ever, certainly 
in modern times, been so prosperous and quiet. Both English 
political parties had promised that the British occupation of Egypt 
should be temporary, but the control of the Suez canal was so 
valuable, that the risk of handing Egypt over even to the khedive 
was too great to be assumed by any administration. 

Under Sir Herbert Kitchener the Egyptian army had been im- 
proved so much as to be an efficient body. From the time of 
Gordon's death (§ 667) there had been a cry in England for the 
reoccupation of the Sudan, and the affairs in that country, ruled 
as it was by fanatics, gave good excuse for the attempt. Under 
General Kitchener an army of British and Egyptian troops con- 
quered the land and the Sudan was put under the joint control 
of Great Britain and Egypt in 1899. 

681. China; "Boxer" Insurrection. 1900. — In still another 
field, foreign affairs claimed close attention ; this time in China. 
A war between China and Japan (1894- 1895) resulted in the 
complete success of Japan, an event which caused the rest of the 
world to recognize that a new and strong power had arisen in the 
East which would have to be reckoned with in the future. The 
revelation of the strength of Japan was accompanied by the dis- 
closure of China's inherent weakness, which increased the tempta- 
tion for the western powers to deal with her as they had dealt 
with Africa. At once Russia, Germany, and France sought to 
gain in China "spheres of influence" from which in the future 
they might extend their power and possessions. England, and 
the United States, who now began to take an active part in the 
Far East supported the " open door " as it was called, that is, that 
all nations alike should have freedom of intercourse. But Russia 
entered Manchuria and both Germany and England acquired 
ports and territory within the Chinese dominions. 

The attempts to dismember the empire led to what is known as 



530 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



the " Boxer Rising " (1900). There seems little doubt that the 
Boxers were secretly encouraged by the Chinese government. For 
a time it was a formidable movement. The foreign legations were 
shut up in Peking and attacked by the Boxers, and for several 
weeks were in great danger and distress. At last they were re- 
lieved by an international army composed of British, American, 
French, Russian, and Japanese troops under a German officer. 
The Chinese government finally agreed to punish the Boxers 
and pay a large indemnity to the foreigners. The integrity of 
China was secured by treaty, but meanwhile Manchuria had been 
seized by Russia, an action which was to lead to serious results for 
her. 

682. General Election, 1900; Victoria's "Diamond Jubilee," 
1897 ; her Death, 1901. — In September, 1900, when it was evident 
that the Boers were losing ground, the cabinet shrewdly dissolved 
Parliament and ordered a general election, making the issue the con- 
tinuance of the Boer War to a finish. As was expected, the 
Unionists were returned with a majority larger than would have 
been possible six months later. 

In 1897 the Diamond Jubilee, or sixtieth anniversary of the ac- 
cession of Queen Victoria, was celebrated with great enthusiasm by 
all parties. But the strain of many years and the great anxiety 
about the war, in which she took the deepest interest, affected her 
health seriously, and on January 22, 1901, after a short illness, she 
died. Her domestic virtues, her simplicity of life, her high regard 
for her public duties, and above all, in recent years, the feeling 
that she was the embodiment of the empire, gave her a place in the 
hearts of her subjects which no other English monarch, with the 
possible exception of Elizabeth, ever held. Her death closed the 
longest reign in British annals. 1 

683. A Review of the Reign of Victoria. 1837-1901. — Dur- 
ing no reign in history had there been so great an advance in 

1 She was eighty-one years and nearly eight months old ; her reign numbered 
sixty-three years, seven months, and two days. 



VICTORIA'S REIGN 53 I 

material prosperity or in invention. Her reign saw the practical 
application of steam to railroad transportation, the invention of 
the telegraph and its vast employment in commercial and social 
matters, the submarine cable, the telephone, an enormous number 
of inventions for facilitating every kind of manufacture, and in- 
numerable improvements and discoveries in every field that re- 
lates to human material interests. 

In the social world, her reign saw a wonderful advance in pre- 
ventive as well as remedial legislation, a recognition of the rights 
of the worker such as had not been known before ; more regard 
paid to the rights and welfare of women and children ; more 
efforts made to better the condition of the physically and morally 
unfortunate or helpless. There had grown up a higher standard 
of civilization, there was less coarseness and brutality, and a fuller 
appreciation of the claims of others. Classes were less exclusive, 
education more widely diffused, and the opportunities for acquir- 
ing an education greatly extended. 

In politics there was the change from an aristocratic govern- 
ment to a democratic one, and an enlargement of the franchise 
from being the privilege of a few to practically household suffrage ; 
there was the continued development of the cabinet system of" 
government, until the cabinet had become the de facto ruler of 
the country ; and not only this, but a literature flourished which 
in extent and excellence is comparable only to that of the reign 
of Elizabeth. 

There was, however, a darker side to the picture. Alongside 
of the growth and development just described, there was much to 
deplore. The condition of the unskilled worker had not greatly 
improved ; wages were often low and the housing insufficient and 
unsanitary. The decline of agriculture threw many out of em- 
ployment, who often drifted to the cities and towns to add to the 
problems confronting municipal authorities and philanthropists. 
Intemperance among the lower classes was of too common occur- 
rence, resulting in the increase of poverty, ill health, and crime. 



532 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



Frequent disputes between capital and labor had brought hard 
feeling, suffering, and loss. 

But if there was acute distress, there was more of sensitiveness 
to suffering and degradation. " Settlement work," or personal 
labor in connection with residence among the needy, was entered 
into, and organized efforts to better conditions were widespread. 
Among other organizations should be mentioned the Salvation 
Army, with its thousands of adherents. 1 

References. — Gardiner, Students History, chap, lvii, § io-chap. lx (1885) ; 
Terry, History, Part IV, chap, vii, p. 999-chap. ix (1901); Tout, Advanced 
History, Book VIII, chaps, iii-viii (1901); Adams and Stephens, Select 
Documents, §§ 266-276; Traill, Social England, vol. VI, chaps, xxii-xxiv; 
Cheyney, Readings, chap, xix, §§ v-xx; Kendall, Source-Book, §§ 131-151; 
Lee, Source-Book, §§ 221-235. 

Descendants of Victoria 

Victoria 

1837-1901 

= Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha 

d. 1861 



I I I I I I I I f 

Victoria (Albert) Alice Alfred Helen Louise Arthur Leopold Beatrice 

= Frederick Edward = Grand D. = Prince = Duke D. D.Albany 
III VII Duke Edin- Christian of Con- = Helene 

1901-1910 Hesse burgh Argyll naught 



Emperor of 
Germany 



William II 
Emperor of 
Germany 



Alexandra 
of Denmark 



Albert Victor 
d. 1892 



Marie 
of Prussia 
succeeded to Duchy 
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha 



Louise 
of Prussia 



= Henry of 
Battenberg 



Charles Edward 

sue. Duchy of 

Saxe-Coburg-Gotha 



George V 
1910- 

= Princess 
(Victoria) Mary of Teck 



Victoria Ena 
Alphonso XIII 
King of Spain 



Edward Albert 
b. 1894 



Albert 
b. 1895 



Victoria 
b. 1897 



Henry 
b. 1900 



George 
b. 1902 



John 
b. 1905 



1 This religious and philanthropic organization was begun (1878) by William 
Booth, a Methodist minister, and his wife, Catharine Booth. It is, as its name im- 
plies, organized on military lines. Its chief object is to reach those who are not 
reached by other religious bodies, to bring reform and betterment in their spiritual 
and physical conditions, and their surroundings. General Booth died in 1912. 



CHAPTER XXIX 
LATEST YEARS 

684. Edward VII, 1901. — On the death of Victoria, the Prince 
of Wales was proclaimed as Edward VII, and in the same year 
an act of Parliament made his legal title " Edward VII by the 
grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 
and of all the British Dominions beyond the Seas, King, Defender 
of the Faith, Emperor of India " ; the imperialism of Disraeli and 
of Victoria became a legal fact. 

Edward VII was about sixty years old, and his opportunities for 
watching the course of public opinion had been ample, though Queen 
Victoria, with something akin to pettiness, had allowed him to take 
little or no part in public affairs other than social. At the time of 
his accession he declared that he would rule " as a constitutional 
sovereign in the strictest sense of the word." Though many felt 
considerable apprehension at the time of his coming to the throne, 
his unfailing tact and evident desire to rule as a strictly consti- 
tutional monarch soon dissipated such feeling, and a severe illness 
which postponed his coronation aroused much sympathy and even 
affection. 1 

685. Resignation of Salisbury ; Balfour, Prime Minister, 1902 ; 
Treaty with Japan. — Lord Salisbury continued to be prime min- 
ister until 1902, when owing to failing health he resigned and was 
succeeded by his nephew, Arthur J. Balfour, who had been for 
some years the Unionist leader in the House of Commons. In 
foreign affairs all difficulties with France were settled, including 
the Egyptian question, England continuing her occupation of 
Egypt. An agreement was also made with Japan. In 1904 a 

1 It was not until August 9, 1902, that he was crowned, and on January 1, 1903, 
he was formally proclaimed Emperor of India at Delhi. 

533 



534 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



war broke out between Japan and Russia, caused nominally by 
Russia encroaching upon Korea, which was under the control of 
Japan. To the astonishment of Russia and of most nations Japan 
was victorious, and Russia was forced to relinquish Manchuria and 
to allow Japan to retain the strong position of Port Arthur. After 
the war Great Britain made a treaty with Japan (1905), each gov- 
ernment agreeing to support the other in maintaining the existing 
conditions in the East. 

686. Education Bill, 1902 ; Irish Land Act, 1903; Aliens Act, 
1905. — Home measures were not the least important. A new 
Education Act was passed (1902), which remodeled the whole 
system of national education. The Forster Bill of 1870 (§ 657) 
had provided for little beyond primary grades ; the new act re- 
lated to higher grades as well. By the provisions of the Bill the 
control of the schools was given to county councils, and it ex- 
tended the benefit of the rates (taxes) to the Church of England 
schools, and gave to the church the appointment of the teachers and 
the control of the religious instruction. The Education Bill was bit- 
terly opposed by the Nonconformists, who resented the application 
of public funds to sectarian education. 1 In the next year (1903) 
was passed another Irish Land Act, which made it possible for 
tenants to purchase their farms. Based on Gladstone's Act of 
1870 (§ 657) and succeeding Acts, it at once justified his efforts 
and promoted the cause of order in Ireland by striking at the 
very root of the trouble — the land question. Another important 
measure was the Aliens Act (1905), which regulated the admission 
of foreigners to the country, and was designed to keep out un- 
desirable " immigrants." 

687. Weakness of the Unionists ; Resignation of Balfour, 
1905. — The Unionists had now had a long lease of power, 

1 So deeply did many Nonconformists feel regarding this measure that they re- 
fused to pay the amount of taxes levied for this purpose, preferring to have their 
furniture or goods distrained, or to suffer imprisonment, rather than submit to 
what they believed to be an infringement on their rights. Such an amount of pas- 
sive resistance had not been seen in England since the seventeenth century. 



REIGN OF EDWARD VII 



535 



the country was beginning to desire a change, the Nonconformists 
were irritated over the Education Bill, and the Unionists were 
themselves becoming divided upon economic questions. 

In 1903 Mr. Chamberlain, who had been colonial secretary, 
resigned from the ministry because he favored what began to be 
called "fair trade," 
that is, a modified 
form of protection. 
The cabinet tried 
to hold a middle 
course, while prom- 
inent men re- 
mained true to 
their old principle 
of free trade. This 
division weakened 
the Unionist party 
greatly. Moreover, 
the government 
had allowed the in- 
troduction of "in- 
dentured" laborers 
from China to work 
in the mines of the Transvaal, a course which the Liberals claimed 
was little short of slavery. 1 Above all, was the bitter opposition 
of the Nonconformists to the Education Bill of 1902. 

At length Mr. Balfour resigned, in December, 1905, and the 
Liberal leader, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, became Prime 
Minister. 

688. General Election of 1906 ; Great Liberal Victory, 1906. 
— A general election was held in January and February, 1906, and 
the opposition gained a majority of 358, unequalled even by the great 




Edward VII 



1 The laborers were bound by an indenture or agreement to remain in the 
country three years, at the expiration of which they were to return to China. 



536 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

majority in 1832 x (§ 620). One of the most significant features of 
this Parliament was the group of about fifty members who repre- 
sented the laboring class. This group is known as the Labor Party. 2 

689. Reform Measures; Asquith, Prime Minister. 1908. — 
Early in 1908 Sir Henry Campbell- Bannerman was compelled, on 
account of ill health, to resign as prime minister (April 6). 3 The 
king summoned Mr. Henry Herbert Asquith, the chancellor of 
the exchequer. Among the members of Mr. Asquith's cabinet 
were David Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, Reginald McKenna, 
and Lord Crewe. 

Some of the greater measures undertaken by the Liberal Cabinet 
were : an Old Age Pension Bill, an Education Bill to remedy 
the grievances complained of by the Nonconformists (§ 686), and 
a Licensing Bill to reform the laws relating to the sale of intoxi- 
cating liquors. Of these the first was passed by both houses and 
became a law (1908). The Education Bill was withdrawn, it being 
found impossible to satisfy all parties ; and the Licensing Bill was 
thrown out by the House of Lords. This action of the Lords, 
who, it was charged, defeated the bill on account of their large 
financial interests in the matter, aroused great feeling in the House 
of Commons, and demands were made for some curtailment of 
the powers of the hereditary House. 

690. The Finance Bill and the Lords. 1909. — The question 
between the Commons and the Lords was brought to an issue by 
the Finance Bill or Budget 4 of 1909, introduced by David Lloyd 
George, chancellor of the exchequer. In order to raise the large 
amounts needed for old age pensions, and for the construction of 
powerful battleships believed to be needful for the national 

1 The Unionists numbered 156; the Liberals, 378; the Irish Nationalists, 83; 
and the Labor Party, 53. On most questions the Liberals could command nearly 
the whole of the great opposition majority, and had a majority of 86 over all others. 

2 Their expenses were paid by contributions from the workingmen and labor 
organizations. 3 Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman died on April 22, 1908. 

4 The estimates of the expenses of the government for the succeeding year, in- 
cluding the methods by which the necessary amount is proposed to be raised, are 
called "The Budget." 



CONTEST BKTWKEN LORDS AND COMMONS 



537 



defense, in addition to the ordinary expenses of administration, 
Mr. Lloyd George proposed a large increase in the taxation of 
land, especially in and near cities and towns, and on mineral 
lands. This proposition involved a new valuation of lands for the 
basis of taxation, 1 a new Domesday Book, as it were (§ 47). 

This measure aroused a storm 
of protest in the House of 
Lords, as that House contained 
the largest and wealthiest land- 
holders in the kingdom. Con- 
trary to precedent, the Lords 
rejected 2 the bill (November 
22, 1909) by a vote of 350 to 
75 : the reason being given J^t^jjJ 
that this bill would lead to the 
confiscation of landed prop- 
erty ; was in itself unjust ; es- 
tablished new principles of tax- 
ation ; and therefore it should 
be " submitted to the judgment 
of the country." 

The House of Commons, on motion of Mr. Asquith, passed a 
resolution of protest by a majority of 215. A few days later Par- 
liament was dissolved. 

691. Contest between Lords and Commons. — At the general 
election (January, February, 19 10) the Liberals were returned 
with a majority, but greatly reduced, and one dependent upon the 
Nationalist and Labor votes. Under the existing law, the fran- 
chise is to a large extent based on land, therefore a man owning 




David Lloyd George 



1 The last valuation of land had been made in 1692. 

2 By long-established precedent the Lords do not have the right to reject money 
bills. Tin- Marquis of Salisbury said in 1894 that the reason why the House of Lords 
could not reject or amend a money bill is, " That it has not the power of changing 
the executive government, and to reject a finance bill and leave the executive gov- 
ernment in its place means to create a deadlock from which there is no escape." 



538 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 

land in different election districts may have several votes ; this is 
called " plural voting." As the large landholders are mostly Con- 
servatives, the law works in their favor ; indeed, the Liberals 
claim, and probably with justice, that were it not for " plural vot- 
ing," their majority in the Commons would be considerably larger. 

The budget was again passed by the Commons, and subse- 
quently passed by the Lords (1910) with great reluctance, for they 
were convinced that the government would either order a new 
election or ask the king to create a sufficient number of Liberal 
peers to pass the measure. 

The Liberals now proceeded to frame a bill to limit the powers 
of the Lords, and in a few days the Parliament Bill, or " Veto 
Act," was presented to the House. Of this very important act 
the essential features are: (1) The House of Lords shall not 
have the power to amend or reject Money Bills ; * (2) any 
Public Bill (other than a Money Bill or a bill extending the dura- 
tion of Parliament longer than five years) " when passed by the 
House of Commons in three successive sessions (whether of the 
same Parliament or not) over a period of not less than two years 
shall become a law notwithstanding the rejection by the House of 
Lords ; " (3) " Five years shall be substituted for seven years as 
the time fixed for the maximum of Parliament under the Septen- 
nial Act of 1 715 " (§ 526). The Liberals justly claimed that as a 
large majority of the Lords was always Conservative, important 
bills passed by a Liberal House of Commons were either turned 
down or radically amended, the practical result being that the 
hereditary House controlled legislation. In other words that Parlia- 
ment was virtually a single house when the Conservatives were in 
power, and a bicameral one only when the Liberals had a majority 
in the Commons. 

692. Death of Edward VII ; Conference ; Second General 
Election. 1910. — The debate on the Parliament Bill had hardly 

1 The speaker of the House of Commons is to decide what is a Money Bill in 
accordance with a definition of a Money Bill as given in the Parliament Bill itself. 



PARLIAMENTARY REFORMS 



539 



begun when King Edward died after a very brief illness (§ 697). 
By common consent discussion was suspended until after the new 
king was fairly settled on his throne. 

During the summer and autumn of 1910 an informal conference 
of the leading members of both the great parties held many ses- 
sions in hopes of reaching some agreement upon the matter of 
restricting the power of the House of Lords, but without avail. 

The Lords, fearing serious curtailment of their powers, consid- 
ered several schemes of reform, the most notable being that of 
Lord Lansdowne, the Conservative leader. But all this came to 
naught through the dissolution of Parliament (November 28). 

693. Liberal Success ; Parliament Bill ; Payment of Members. 
1911. — At the general election, which took place in a few weeks, 
the Liberals were again returned to power with almost exactly the 
same majority. They had thus been successful in three consecutive 
general elections, an unprecedented occurrence in British history 

As soon as practicable the Parliament Bill was again introduced, 
and after much discussion passed x (May 15, 191 1). In the House 
of Lords the bill was debated and, with amendments attached, re- 
turned to the Commons. Meanwhile Mr. Asquith let it be known 
that King George had agreed to exercise his prerogative and create 
enough new peers to pass the bill substantially in the form it had 
left the Commons. Thus the situation of 1832 was repeated, and 
the Lords had to face the alternative of the creation of five hundred 
new peers or pass the bill. When the amendments of the Lords 
came up for discussion in the Commons, such a scene of con- 
fusion followed that the speaker was compelled to adjourn the 
House. The bill was returned to the Lords who were now 
compelled to meet the issue. So strong was the feeling that 
it was for some time doubtful whether the Lords would yield. 
Finally the Government leader, Lord Morley, stated that enough 
peers would be created to carry the measure. Upon this the bill 
was passed by a vote of 131 to 114, or a majority of seventeen, 

1 The vote was 362 to 241, or nearly the full government majority. 



54Q 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



August 10, 191 1. Thus was passed one of the most far-reaching 
constitutional measures in English political history. 1 

The same day (August 10) the House of Commons agreed to a 
provision for the payment of members of Parliament, the amount 
fixed upon being ^400 per annum. 

694. National Insurance Bill; Woman Suffrage; "Suffra- 
gettes." — The next important measure brought before Parliament 
was a National Insurance Bill against unemployment and ill-health. 
This was accepted in principle by all parties — but there was a 
great difference of opinion as to details. The bill, an exceedingly 
complicated one, bristling with details, raised great opposition, but 
Mr. Lloyd George was successful in carrying the Bill, and it was 
also passed by the Lords 2 (December 14, 19 n). 

The cause of woman suffrage had been growing in importance 
for some time and various bills proposing to grant the suffrage to 
women had been introduced into Parliament. The most im- 
portant of these was a bill introduced in May, 191 1. It was made 
a non-party measure, and was debated and voted upon regardless 
of party lines. 3 

A division of the women suffragists held radical opinions and 
were known, colloquially, as " Suffragettes." These women insisted 
that the matter should be made a government measure, and to 
secure this resorted to all kinds of forcible measures : attempting 
to thrust themselves into the Parliament chamber, assaulting 

1 Most of the Opposition peers abstained from voting ; thirty-seven Unionisis 
voted with the government, believing that only by passing the bill could they avoid 
" the intrusion of 500 ' mushroom ' peers." The vote justified their action. Lord 
Morley read his carefully prepared statement, " If the Bill should be defeated to- 
night, his majesty would assent to the creation of peers sufficient in numbers to 
guard against any combination of the different parties in the Opposition by which 
the Government Bill might again be exposed to defeat." 

2 The provisions relate to the working classes, and the purpose is to insure them 
against ill health and unemployment. The expense is to be borne partly by regular 
contributions by the workers themselves, partly by employers, and partly by the 
nation. 

3 The bill was read a second time by a vote of 255 to 88, but was then dropped. 
The great object of the suffragists is to gain the right to vote for Members of Parlia- 
ment ; they already have a limited local suffrage. 



STRIKES 



541 



members of the cabinet, particularly the Prime Minister, break- 
ing windows in the official residences, and other acts of violence. 
Not content with these demonstrations, organized bands of women, 
in 191 2 and 19 13, broke the windows of shops and residences regard- 
less of who owned them, poured acid into letter-boxes, and set fire 




Interior of the House of Commons 



to buildings. Numbers were arrested, convicted of conspiracy, and 
sentenced to imprisonment. 1 

695. Strikes. 1910-1912. — The years 1910-191 2 were marked 
by extensive labor troubles and strikes, causing great apprehension, 
some loss of life, and severe money losses. The questions at 
issue were principally matters relating to agreements. The great 
railway strike of 191 1 was one of the most serious strikes on 
record, involving as it did the food supplies of the towns and 
great cities and, indeed, of the nation. The strike began with the 
dock laborers in London on a question of wages, and spread to 

1 The defense made by these militant suffragists was, that only in this way could 
the matter be forced upon the government. By far the greater number of women 
in favor of the suffrage for women disavowed these lawless proceedings. 



542 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



the railway employees* The government, in order to insure 
supplies of food, used force, and managed by the aid of non- 
union men to keep some railway service in operation. 1 That the 
men had grievances was not denied, but the methods employed 
by them were severely criticized. 

Another strike, scarcely less grave than that of the railway men, 
was that of the coal miners (19 12). Beginning with a comparatively 
trifling occurrence, it spread until nearly every coal-mining company 
in the kingdom was affected, and the mining of coal ceased. 
Ocean steamers were held up, railway and steam traffic suspended, 
factories stopped, and household supplies cut off. Efforts at con- 
ciliation were fruitless, and finally Parliament in great haste passed 
a " Minimum Wage Bill " (1912), by the terms of which boards or 
committees were provided which should determine a " minimum 
wage " or the lowest limit to which wages should fall. Soon after 
this, work in the mines was resumed. Later another strike of 
dock laborers took place. 

696. Union of South Africa. 1 9 10. — By the South African Act 
of 1909 practical self-government was granted to the colonies of 
Cape of Good Hope, Natal, the Transvaal, the Orange River 
Colony, under the title of the Union of South Africa. Under this 
act the governor is appointed by the crown and the legislature is 
elective, and there is a system of cabinet responsibility as in 
Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The new Union was begun 
in i9io(May 31). Lord Gladstone 2 was appointed governor, and 
Louis Botha, perhaps the most prominent Boer general in the 
South African war, was chosen prime minister. Such confidence 
reposed in late enemies has rarely been seen, and so far events 
have justified it. 

1 This strike was chiefly what is known as a " sympathetic strike," as well as one 
to compel the " recognition " of the unions by the companies involved. 

-Lord Gladstone (Herbert John Gladstone) is a son of the late William E. 
Gladstone. One of the great problems in South Africa is the race question. By 
the laws of the Act of Union only persons of European descent can sit in the legis- 
lative assemblies. 



REIGN OF GF.ORGE V 



543 



697. George V; Queen Mary; Accession Declaration. 19 10- 
19 1 2. — At the death of Edward VII (May 6, 19 10), his second 
son George 1 succeeded and was proclaimed King George V 
(May 9). He was born on June 3, 1865. He was educated as a 
naval officer, spending a number of years at sea. In his extensive 
travels the prince 
made a good impres- 
sion. In 1893 he 
married Princess Mary 
of Teck (" Princess 
May") a gran d- 
daughter of Queen 
Victoria's uncle, the 
Duke of Cambridge, 
sixth son of George 
III. 2 

After much discus- 
sion both in and out of 
Parliament, the Acces- 
sion Declaration Act 
was passed (August 3, 
1 9 10) which very con- 
siderably modifies the 
declaration as stated 
in the Bill of Rights (§ 485). By the terms of this Act, a new 
monarch is simply required to declare that he is a Protestant and 
that he will maintain Protestantism, without insisting upon a 
definition. 

King George and Queen Mary were crowned in Westminster 
Abbey, June 22, 191 1, with great display. On December 12, 191 1, 
their majesties were also crowned at Delhi, India. The cele- 




George V 



1 His elder brother, Alfred, Duke of Clarence, died unmarried in 1892. 

2 As Queen Mary she is the first British-born royal consort since Katherine Parr, 
wife ofHenry VIII. 



544 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 



bration at Delhi, called the Durbar, was observed with great 
magnificence. 

698 Recent Events. 1911-1912. — The years 1911 and 1912 
were years of great unrest almost everywhere. In 191 1 a revolt in 
Morocco led the sultan of that country to appeal for aid to France. 
A military force was sent in response, and as a result the interests 
of Spain, Germany, and England were believed to be involved, and 
war seemed to be imminent. Largely through the firmness of the 
British government war was averted. By agreement (191 1) a 
virtual French protectorate of Morocco was agreed to, Germany 
receiving certain privileges in Morocco, and large territory in 
French Congo from France in return for her acquiescence in the 
plan. 

Almost immediately after the Moroccan difficulty, Italy began a 
war against Turkey nominally over matters connected with troubles 
in Tripoli, but really for the extension of Italian control in North 
Africa. 

In China an open rebellion against the Manchu Dynasty broke 
out, and in 191 2 a Chinese Republic was set up. Through all 
this, including troubles in Persia, the English government was 
able to keep out of war. 

Negotiations with the United States led to the signing of a 
Treaty of Peace and Arbitration providing for the submission to 
arbitration of almost all differences that might arise. This treaty 
failed of confirmation in the United States Senate by a small 
vote. 1 

An Irish Home Rule Bill was under discussion in the House of 
Commons during the sessions of 1 9 1 2, and was passed on January 1 6, 
1913, by a majority of no. The Bill was sent at once to the 
Lords, who rejected it by a majority of 257. Under the Veto Act 
(§ 691) if the House of Commons repasses the Bill in each of 

1 The reason given was that the terms of the treaty infringed upon the constitu- 
tional rights of the Senate, but it was generally thought that political feeling was 
responsible for the failure of this effort after peaceful means of settling differences. 



CONCLUSION 



545 



three successive sessions within not less than two years, the Bill 
will become a law notwithstanding the objection of the Lords. 

Another important Act which gave rise to a long debate in the 
Commons was that providing for the disestablishment of the Church 
in Wales. 1 The Bill finally passed the House, February 5, 19 13, 
by a majority of 107. It was rejected by the Lords by a majority 
of 201. 

699. Conclusion. — By the census of 191 1 Great Britain rules, 
or rather controls, a population of about 420,000,000. No other 
government in history has controlled so many or so diverse peo- 
ples. 2 The logical result has been the granting of more and more 
power to the over-seas possessions until almost all British colonies, 
with the exception of India and some of the islands, are self-ruled 
or nearly so, the tie binding them to Great Britain being very 
much of a sentimental one. Within the United Kingdom itself 
there is a steady tendency toward a more complete democracy, or 
as many would say, a socialistic government. Certainly the Old 
Age Pension Bill, the National Insurance Bill, the Minimum Wage 
Bill, to mention no others, are all measures which less than fifty 
years ago would have been looked upon with serious apprehen- 
sion by most thoughtful men. That a share in the exercise of 
civil and political power will be extended to all sorts and condi- 
tions of men seems to be the legitimate outcome ; to prepare the 
community for this by education and wise legislation is perhaps 
the most important social and political mission of the present day. 

1 Members of the Church of England form a very small proportion of the popu- 
lation of Wales. 

2 China has, according to Chinese estimates, a population of 433,553,000, but 
careful authorities believe this to be much beyond the actual numbers, which some 
place as less than 300,000,000. 



54 6 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND 




London Bridge in 1900 



APPENDIX I 

BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE TO 1648 

CHAPTER I 

1. The Roman Empire in the Fourth Century. — The Roman 
Empire 1 reached its greatest extent in the fourth century. Its 
expanse of territory was populated by a great variety of races. 
All these peoples had essentially the same law, were taxed by the 
same power, and recognized the same head. That this great em- 
pire should have held together as long as it did is due to several 
causes, among them, (i) the admirable system of organization 
which extended to every part of the realm ; (2) the excellent roads 
which made communication easy and rapid ; (3) the system of 
Roman law; (4) the deification of the Roman emperor, making 
him the personal embodiment of the state ; (5) the uniform coin- 
age ; (6) the well-drilled and, in the earlier days, efficient army, 
which enforced respect and obedience. 2 

2. The Barbarians. — Outside the bounds of the Empire, north 
and east, there lived many peoples whom the Romans called by 
the name of Barbarians. 3 Little is known of the history or the 
condition of these, for they had no literature or records. They 
had no cities, and their chief occupations were warlike and pas- 

1 It comprised all Europe south of the Rhine and the Danube, Asia Minor 
and Asia eastward to a line drawn nearly south from the Caspian Sea to the des- 
ert of Arabia, Syria, Egypt, and the southern coast of the Mediterranean, extend- 
ing considerable distance inland. 

2 The very extent of the empire led to its division (a.D. 293) into the East- 
ern and Western Empires, divided by the Adriatic Sea. Theoretically it was 
still the Roman Empire, and was, now and then, united under a strong emperor. 
The division became permanent at the death of Theodosius, A.I). 395. 

'■'• The chief Teutonic nations were : the Goths, divided into Ostrogoths (East 
Goths), and Visigoths (West Goths) ; Franks; Saxons; Vandals; Burgundians; 
Alemanni; Langobards ; Normans. Of the Tartars or Mongols, the Huns were 
the great representatives, and later the Ottoman Turks. 

547 



548 



APPENDIX 1 



toral. Every man was a warrior, always armed and ready to fight. 
They were divided into tribes, often fighting with each other. 1 

As the population increased more land was needed. 2 A tribe 
or a whole nation would emigrate ; those living near the bounds 
of the Empire would cross the line and demand, or attempt to 
seize, territory. Many of the barbarians living along the boundary 
would become well acquainted with Roman ways, visit Roman 
cities, enter the service of the Roman state, and later carry back 
to their old homes information of Roman civilization. 

Besides these attractions, a great force was impelling these 
barbarians from behind. North and east of the Teutonic tribes 
were hordes of Slavs, and Mongols or Tartars, who were pushing 
forward and striving to obtain lands and plunder. 

3. Invasions of the Barbarians. — In 3 75 a.d. the Visigoths, a 
Teutonic tribe, fleeing before the savage Huns, a Tartar tribe, 
asked permission to cross the Danube and reside within the 
bounds of the empire. These Goths were already Christians 
and it did not seem an unreasonable request, or a dangerous 
experiment. After considerable negotiation they were admitted. 
But, chiefly through the acts of untrustworthy Roman officials, 
they were angered. War broke out, and at Adrianople (378) 
Valens, the emperor of the Eastern Empire, was defeated and 
slain. The importance of this battle lies in the fact that it 
showed that the imperial armies were not invincible. The bar- 
barians had got well within the empire, and never went out. 

Under the able Theodosius (379-395) the empire was united 
under one head and regained somewhat of its ancient prestige, 
but the tendencies toward decay were scarcely checked ; they 
were too deeply seated to be removed. 

4. Causes of the Decay of the Roman Empire. — Some of the 
causes of this decay and weakness were : (1) The great increase 
of slavery and a class resembling serfs (Coloni^), 3 and the conse- 

1 The Germania of Tacitus is our chief authority for the history and customs 
of the Teutonic tribes. 

2 A people that lives by hunting and grazing needs many times more land than 
one which lives by agriculture. 

3 Coloni, or serfs, somewhat resembled the Russian serf. They paid rent but 
could not be separated from the land. In theory freemen, practically they could 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROI'K 



549 



quent decline of free labor and the extinction of the middle class 
— the mainstay of a state; (2) Heavy taxation, and the farming 
out of the collection of taxes to the highest bidder; (3) The 
steady decrease in population, owing partly to the destruction of 
the free laboring class, partly to the low birth-rate ; (4) The re- 
cruiting of the armies from the barbarians made necessary by the 
low birth-rate and decrease in the free population, with a conse- 
quent loss in patriotism and civic excellence ; (5) The very peace 
and good order in the empire which led men to forget that there 
must be something more than mere organization and officials to 
make and preserve a government; (6) Armies inadequate to 
protect the long boundaries, and no system of militia, so that, 
when once the barbarians broke through the lines, there was 
nothing to resist them, but they could go where they pleased ; 
(7) In addition to all the above, ease of living had led to luxury, 
lack of energy, and loss of originality in almost all fields of human 
enterprise. Art, literature, philosophy, science — all showed a 
decadence ; even in government there was a falling away, and it 
was with codification and commentaries rather than with origi- 
nality and progress, that law and political science were occupied. 
Such was the condition of affairs at the opening of the fifth century 
(401). From this time there was a succession of invasions and 
marchings to and fro by Teutonic tribes. Sometimes they were 
nominally allies, or " guests " as they would call themselves, and 
did not interfere with the laws and customs except so far as these 
interfered with their wishes. Thus there would be two sets of 
laws side by side — one for the Roman and one for the invader. 

5. Alaric the Goth; Fall of Rome. 410. — It soon came to 
pass that not only large portions of the Roman armies, but 
the generals also were barbarians. Thus the Vandal, Stilicho, a 
Roman general, was the great opponent of the Visigoth, Alaric. 
This Visigothic leader, who had been marching through Greece, 
Illyricum, and northern Italy, on the assassination of Stilicho 
through the jealousy of the Roman emperor, turned toward Rome 

not leave the estates, for they could not take away property with them. In time it 
came about that the status of colonus descended from father to son, and once a 
colonus always a colonus. 



55° 



APPENDIX I 



and appeared before the city in the autumn of 408. Rome was 
spared on the payment of a heavy ransom. He came also in 409, 
and again in 410. This last time he took the city and gave it 
over to pillage. It was six hundred years since Rome had even 
seen an enemy from her walls, and eight hundred since an enemy 
had been within them. 1 

6. Barbarian Control ; Fall of the Western Empire (476) ; Rise 
of New Kingdoms (375-500). — The world was startled ; Rome lost 
much of her prestige ; the Barbarians felt that the empire be- 
longed to them, and they set up and put down emperors who 
often were mere puppets in their hands. So great, even yet, was 
the force of the Roman name that the nominal Western Empire 
lasted about sixty years longer. At last, in 476, the Emperor 
Romulus Augustulus was forced by Odoacer, a Teuton chief, to 
abdicate, and the Western Roman Empire came to an end, though 
the authority of the emperor at Constantinople was at least nomi- 
nally recognized. 

Even before the fall of Rome (410), the empire had begun to 
give place to new kingdoms or states which claimed to be king- 
doms. There were many depopulated districts. The Barbarians 
were eager for land and secured it sometimes by force, sometimes 
by treaty in return for assistance as allies of the Roman armies. 
Beginning about 375 the movement lasted for about two hun- 
dred years. The character of these invaders varied. Many were 
more than ready to adopt Roman customs and Christianity ; others 
seemed bent on havoc, like the Vandals, who have given the 
name of vandalism to unreasoning and wanton destruction. 

By the close of the fifth century the whole of the old Western 
Roman Empire, except the Italian peninsula, was in the hands of 
Teutonic tribes, 2 of which the chief were the Goths and Franks. 

7. Invasion of the Huns; Attila, the Hun (445-451). — Dur- 
ing the fifth century a great danger threatened Europe, from the 

1 Hannibal in B.C. 211; and the Gauls in B.C. 390. 

2 About 500 the Visigoths occupied parts of Gaul and Spain; the Suevi, north- 
west Spain and a good part of modern Portugal ; the Franks, northwest Gaul and 
the country north of it; the Burgundians, the lands along the Rhone; the Alle- 
manni, Switzerland ; the Ostrogoths, eastern Hungary and Bosnia ; Angles, Saxons, 
and Jutes, England; and the Vandals, the northern coast of Africa. 






BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 551 

invasion of the Huns, an Asiatic people of the Mongolian race. 
Why they left their Asiatic home is not known. Possibly they in 
turn were pressed upon by natives east of them. They were a 
savage people who spared no foe. About the time of the battle 
of Adrianople (378) they had settled nearly where modern Hun- 
gary is. The Eastern Emperor had bought security from attack, 
but, as is almost always the case, larger tribute was soon demanded. 
Under Attila, who became king in 445, the Huns controlled 
nearly the whole of Europe north of the Danube and east of the 
Rhine as far as the shores of the Baltic. It was not strange that 
Attila turned his attention to the rich countries south of those rivers. 
First he raided the Eastern Empire to the very walls of Con- 
stantinople. The city was saved by a disgraceful treaty yielding 
considerable territory and agreeing to a large annual tribute. 

8. Battle of Chalons, 451. — Then Attila turned to the west. He 
invaded Gaul with a large army, but was defeated near Chalons 
(45O by a combined force of Visigoths, Burgundians, Franks, 
and others under ^Etius. This has been reckoned as one of the 
great battles of the world. It was a conflict between the Aryan 
and Tartar tribes, between civilization and barbarism, Christian- 
ity and heathenism. The next year Attila advanced again and 
destroyed the city of Aquileia at the head of the Adriatic. Fugi- 
tives from this city and the neighboring plains founded Venice on" 
the islands of the shallow sea. Attila established himself at Milan, 
but later retired beyond the Danube and died (453). 

9. The Vandals; Gaiseric. 406-534. — The Vandals, origi- 
nally living near the Baltic, after various wanderings, crossed the 
Rhine (406) near Mainz (Mayence) and found their way to 
Spain (409). Some years later (429) they crossed into Africa 1 
under the leadership of Gaiseric (or Genseric). Northern Africa, 
known as the "granary of Rome," offered an easy prey to these 
rapacious invaders, and by the capture of the flourishing city of 
Carthage (439) Gaiseric gained complete control. Africa was 
lost to the Western Empire, and Roman civilization, to a great 
extent, destroyed. Rome and Italy suffered much from the loss 
of supplies. North Africa had been a stronghold of orthodox 

1 Some authorities say they were invited by the Roman governor Boniface. 



552 



APPENDIX I 



Christianity, the home of Augustine l and other Church Fathers. 
The Vandals, though Christian in name, were Arians and hostile 
to the orthodox faith, so all the bishops and clergy of North 
Africa that were able fled to Europe and greatly influenced 
European thought and practice. The Vandals became seafaring 
men and seized the islands of the western Mediterranean. After 
the death of Attila, Gaiseric thought it opportune to attack Rome. 
This he did in 455. Not a blow was struck in defense, and for a 
fortnight the city was sacked, and hundreds of citizens were carried 
into slavery. Gaiseric died in 477. In time the Vandals became 
more civilized and adopted the orthodox faith. Their dominion 
lasted about eighty years, when their power was overthrown by 
Belisarius (534), a great general of the Eastern Empire. 

10. Europe during the Sixth Century. — The sixth century was 
on the Continent, as it was in England, a time of flux. Peoples 
were moving to and fro, petty kingdoms were set up and pulled 
down, all Europe was striving to accommodate itself to the changing 
conditions. It was needful, if there was to be peace and progress, 
that the newcomers and the old inhabitants should be fused into 
one people, and that in some way Roman and Teutonic laws and 
customs should be adjusted. The Teutonic law, which was un- 
written, was based on the rights of the individual ; the Roman law 
was founded on duty to the state or community. Roman law, 
moreover, had been carefully codified and was a mass of rules 
applicable to a highly civilized community. The process of ad- 
justment was long, and centuries were needed to complete it ; but 
in the end Roman law was the conqueror on the continent, while 
in Great Britain Teutonic law prevailed. 2 

11. Odoacer (476-493); Theodoric. — In no country were 
conditions worse than in Italy. After Odoacer had compelled 
Romulus Augustulus to abdicate (§ 6) in 476, he sent the insignia 
of office to the Eastern Emperor, asking that he might rule at 
Rome as his representative. Odoacer ruled nearly all Italy and 

1 St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, died (431) during the siege of that city by 
Gaiseric. 

2 This did not take place until late in the Middle Ages. Roman law was, how- 
ever, considerably modified, as was Teutonic law in England. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 



553 



ruled it well. But he ruled by force and depended upon merce- 
nary troops ; he had no real support from the people of Italy. 

The Ostrogoths, who held the lands south of the Danube, alter- 
nately threatened and aided the Eastern Empire. Under their 
able king, Theodoric, they were a strong power. Theodoric, from 
a residence in Constantinople, was familiar with conditions in the 
empire and well fitted to lead an invasion. The Ostrogoths were 
warlike, but as Constantinople was almost impregnable to such 
warriors, it was natural that their attention should be attracted to 
Italy. It was easy to pick a quarrel. Then Theodoric led his 
armies westward against Odoacer, who held out bravely for four 
years. He was forced to surrender at Ravenna (495), and a few 
days later was treacherously slain. 

12. Theodoric. 493-526. — Theodoric set up a new kingdom 
with Ravenna for its capital. He was an admirer of Roman cus- 
toms. The buildings erected by him at Ravenna still stand to tes- 
tify to his love of architecture and civilized life, while the works 
of Boethius, Cassiodorus, and Symmachus show his love of learn- 
ing and encouragement of literature. 

Theodoric had a clear conception of what a great ruler ought to 
be. He was politic and generally far-sighted. His wife was the 
sister of Clovis, king of the Franks, one of his daughters was wife 
of the king of the Burgundians, another of the king of the Visi- 
goths. A sister was wife of the king of the Vandals. It is said 
that, except in Britain, there was no place within the whole of the 
Western Empire where his influence was not felt. He was, how- 
ever, on occasion, suspicious, cruel, and vindictive. He is said to 
have slain Odoacer with his own hand, cast Pope John into prison 
where he died, and, near the close of his reign, had Boethius, the 
philosopher, and Symmachus put to death. 

He was nominally subject to the Eastern Emperor, but was 
really independent, and his well-organized kingdom included Italy, 
Sicily, and the lands north and east of the upper Adriatic. He 
made little or no change in the administration of Italy, and though 
he and his people were Arians, he was tolerant, and is reported to 
have said, " No man's conscience should be forced contrary to his 
judgment." He died in 526. 



554 



APPENDIX I 



13. Justinian; Belisarius. — Justinian, one of the few great 
Eastern Emperors (527-565), tried to bring back Italy and Africa 
to the empire. His success in Africa through Belisarius (534) 
has already been mentioned. But though the same able general 
was sent to Italy (535) it was not for a number of years that the 
imperial armies, then under Narses, were successful (553). So 
complete was the defeat that the Goths were compelled to leave 
Italy and, losing e\ en their name, disappeared from history. 

14. The Franks; Clovis. 481-511. — Of all the barbarian 
tribes the one on whom our attention is centered for several cen- 
turies is that of the Franks. Late in the fifth century (481) under 
Clovis, 1 they became a great power. They never cut themselves 
aloof from their former surroundings, as did the other tribes, but 
moved forward gradually, always able to bring up reserves. In 
this way they held the territory they gained and kept increasing 
their possessions. They turned their arms against their fellow 
Teutonic tribes and overcame first one and then another. 
Clovis and his people were heathen, but he married an orthodox 
Christian princess, and in time adopted Christianity. Thus he be- 
came a champion of the orthodox faith in Gaul against the Goths 
and other Teutonic natives who were Arians. The successes of 
Clovis were of great importance. They meant that the Franks 
were to rule Gaul, later to be called, after them, France, and that 
the Catholic faith, not Arianism, was to be the religion of the land. 
More than this, it meant that the Bishop of Rome, now known as 
the Pope, had gained a strong ally, and that there would be an 
alliance between the Frankish kingdom and the Popes which would 
greatly influence all European history. The dominions of Clovis 
comprised nearly all modern France, Belgium, and lands north and 
south of the Rhine. 

15. Merovingians; Mayors of the Palace. 511-687. — At the 
death of Clovis, according to Teutonic custom, his kingdom was 
divided among his four sons. For the next hundred years the 
Frankish kingdoms were the scene of confusion, havoc, and cruel 
murders, but there was, nevertheless, growth and development. 

1 He is known also as Chlodwig, which later became Ludwig, and in French 
Louis. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 555 

The height of the sway of the Merovingians, 1 as the descendants 
of Clovis were called, was under Dagobert (628-638). Even 
before him the nobles had begun to acquire great power. The 
chieftains became great proprietors, and their followers lost more 
and more of their privileges and became soldiers or peasants. 
Great lords warred against other lords, the weaker losing and the 
more powerful gaining. It was important for the king that these 
nobles should be friendly, for their support was essential to him. 
Therefore privileges and authority were bestowed upon them. 
Those nearest the king's person were most favored — among 
them none more so than the major-damns, or " mayor of the pal- 
ace," who was the chief official of the king's household. This 
office became hereditary, and in time the " mayor of the palace " 
had more power than the king, and for about sixty years the 
Merovingian kings reigned, but did not rule. 

16. Pippin (687-714); Charles Martel (714-741); Battle 
of Tours. 732. — Among the great families one had " by alliances, 
by wealth, by prowess, by military skill, and by policy gradually 
attained a power with which no other family, chief, or combina- 
tion of chiefs could any longer contend." This was the family of 
Pippin of Heristal (d. 714). His son, Charles Martel (the Ham- 
mer), " mayor of the palace," not only put down domestic anarchy, 
but at the battle of Tours, near Poitiers in central France (732), 
drove back the hitherto irresistible Moorish foe (§21). At the 
request of the Pope he interfered in Italian affairs, and from this 
time the Franks and their successors were looked upon as the 
protectors of the Papacy, and, with little exception, acted as such 
down to the latter 'part of the nineteenth century. Charles Mar- 
tel, king except in name, died 741. 

17. Pippin the Short (752-768). — Pippin the Short, the son 
and able successor of Charles Martel, resolved to be king in name 
as well as in fact. He appealed to the Pope, Zacharias, asking 
him whether it was a good thing for the one to be king who did 
not have the power. The Pope replied, " It seems better that he 
who has the power in the state should be and be called king rather 

1 The name is possibly derived from Meroveus or Merwig (448-458), grand- 
father of Clovis. 



556 APPENDIX I 

than he who is falsely called king." Whereupon Pippin de- 
throned the Merovingian Childeric III and called himself king. 
This was the beginning of the Carlovingian dynasty. 1 It should 
be noted, however, that the Pope did not make Pippin king, but 
only sanctioned the adoption of the title. 

18. Langobards ; Pippin's Gift to the Pope. 756. — Among the 
rudest of the Teutonic tribes was that of the Langobards, later 
softened into Lombards. These took possession (568) of the 
plains north of the river Po, ever since called Lombardy, and later 
extended their boundary southward, and in 751 captured Ravenna 
and threatened Rome. As the Lombards were Arians the outlook 
for the Catholic Pope was serious in every way. He vainly ap- 
pealed for aid to the Eastern Emperor, and then turned to Pippin, 
the Frank. This he did personally, visiting Gaul for the purpose. 
He was successful in his mission, and Pippin entered Italy with an 
army and relieved Rome. But as soon as Pippin returned to Gaul, 
Aistulf, the Lombard king, again besieged Rome. Again Pope 
Stephen appealed to Pippin, who entered Italy a second time. 
Pippin made thorough work. Aistulf was forced to give up all 
the territory he had wrested from the empire, and then, instead 
of keeping it himself, Pippin turned the territory over to the Pope 
(756), who governed the country as the Empire had done. 2 
Possibly this was the beginning of the temporal power of the 
church, which, though greatly restricted in later times, lasted until 
1870, when Napoleon III withdrew the French troops from Rome, 
and Victor Emmanuel II, King of Italy, took possession. 3 

19. Mohammedanism. 622. — Since the eighth century one of 
the great religious and political forces in the world has been that 
of Mohammedanism, or, as it is sometimes called, Islam. 4 Moham- 
med (or Mahommed, or Mahomet), the founder, was born in 
Arabia about 571. Until he was forty he lived an obscure life, 

1 So called from Pippin's son, Charles the Great, or Charlemagne. 

2 The Papacy already held much land in Italy, acquired mainly by gifts or be- 
quest, but it was as owner, not as political ruler. 

3 The document known as " Donation of Constantine " (324) conferred upon 
the Pope the city of Rome, land and power. It was used as a basis for extensive 
claims. 

4 The word is also written Mahommedanism and Muhammedanism. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 557 

but then (610 or 611), according to the legend, he had a vision 
which turned him into a prophet and the founder of a new religion. 
Beginning to teach his doctrines, he aroused great opposition, 
and fled for safety from Mecca, his place of residence, to Medina 
(622). 1 The inhabitants of Medina were enemies of those of 
Mecca and took up the cause of Mohammed. In the guerilla 
warfare which followed the Meccans were defeated. Gradually 
the influence and power of Mohammed increased until all Arabia 
accepted the new faith. 

20. Character of Mohammedanism; Its Conquests. 571-718. 
— Mohammed claimed no miraculous power, and regarded him- 
self only as an inspired prophet and reformer. Judaism and 
Christianity, he said, are perverted forms of the true religion 
which he proclaimed, whose watchword is, "There is but one 
God, and Mohammed is his prophet." 2 

The religion founded by him is called Islam, that is, resignation, 
and its followers Mussulmans. 3 To spread the religion by force 
was regarded as commendable. " War against the infidels," said 
the prophet, " is a sacred war ; God is with the combatants, and 
those who fall in battle will pass straight to Paradise." This doc- 
trine was faithfully believed by Mohammed's followers and suc- 
cessors. The armies were fanatical in their faith and devotion. 
They offered their enemies the choice between the Koran — that 
is, acceptance of the religion ; tribute ; or the sword. The third 
of these meant death ; the second, heavy tribute and harsh treat- 
ment ; the first, admission to equality with the faithful. For years 
these fanatical armies carried everything before them. By 718 
the new religion extended from the Indus to the Atlantic, and its 
votaries held Syria, Palestine, the old Persian Empire, Armenia, 
Turkestan, part of India, Egypt, northern Africa, and Spain. The 
greater part of the conquered peoples embraced Islam, and re- 

1 The year, 622, of this flight, known as the Hegira, is the beginning of the Mo- 
hammedan era. The Christian year 1912 nearly corresponds to the Mohammedan 
year 1330. The difference in reckoning is owing to the fact that the Mohamme- 
dan year is based on lunar time, while the Christian is based on sidereal time. 
2 Often given as, " There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet." 
8 Many of the real or supposed sayings of Mohammed were written down, and 
the collection is known as the Koran. 



558 APPENDIX 1 

tained it even when the political power fell into other hands. 
With perhaps the single exception of Spain the followers of Mo- 
hammed lost little territory, and the religion claims to-day about 
200,000,000 followers. 1 That Islam is well adapted to the Ori- 
ental mind is shown by its rapid growth, and by its hold upon the 
world. 

21. The Moors in Spain. 711-732. — The Saracens, or Moors, 
entered Spain in 711, completely subdued the Visigothic king 
known as "Roderick, the last of the Goths," and in seven years 
(718) had gained all Spain and were making raids into Gaul. It 
was not, however, until 731 that, under a skillful general, Abder- 
rahman, the Moors were able to enter Gaul with a large army. 
As has been seen (§ 16) this army was routed at Poitiers (or 
Tours) in 732, and the Moorish leader slain. Whether the danger 
to Europe was quite so great as is often claimed is doubtful. 
It is hardly likely that the Moors would have advanced beyond 
Gaul, and it is probable that the Teutons would have united 
against the common foe as in the case of Attila the Hun (451). 
Besides this, Islam was not attractive to Teutonic minds. 

22. Culture and Achievements of the Saracens. — For a hun- 
dred years or more the Mohammedans were unlettered and un- 
progressive, but in the ninth century, under the dynasty of the 
Abassides, a great change took place. The literature of the 
Greeks, Egyptians, and Eastern nations was sought for and studied, 
and the Saracens became the most learned people of their day. 
This was particularly true of the sciences. Mathematics, astronomy, 
and chemistry were pursued with great success. Indeed " alge- 
bra " and "chemistry" are Arabic words, and the Saracens are 
really the founders of the latter science. Through them we get 
our Arabic numerals which have been of such inestimable value. 
They were great botanists, the best physicians and surgeons of the 
time, the best farmers, the best architects, the best artisans, the 
best sailors, the clearest thinkers. The height of their intellectual 
progress was reached in Spain during the tenth century. Cordova 
was the center of learning. Its university is said to have had 
thousands of students, and among them were many Christians. 

1 The number of Christians is estimated at 494,000,000. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 559 

The Moors in Spain excelled in architecture, as the cathedral at 
Cordova, one a mosque, and the wonderfully beautiful ruins of 
the Alhambra in Grenada bear testimony. From these Saracens 
also come many of the Eastern influences, which are often wholly 
ascribed to the Crusades. 

23. The Frankish Empire; Charles the Great. 768-814. — 
Pippin (§ 17) died in 76S, and was succeeded by his two sons, 
Charles and Carloman ; the latter died in 771, and Charles be- 
came sole ruler. Charles, born about 742, is one of the greatest 
men in history, and despite his faults well deserves the name of 
Great. 1 He was over six feet in height, of dignified presence, 
rather stout in person, but well proportioned, his eyes were large 
and lively, his expression bright and cheerful. He was temperate 
in his food and drink, especially in the latter, and it is said he 
hated drunkenness. Except on great occasions he dressed 
simply, always following the Frankish fashion, and differing little 
from the common dress of the people. He was skilled in reading 
aloud and in singing to the harp. He was fond of literature, of 
the liberal arts and the science of the day, and of architecture. 
Though we know that he could sign his name, it is not likely that 
he ever learned to write with any ease. He was familiar with 
Latin, and understood, if he did not speak, Greek. He was a 
great churchgoer. As a general and as a statesman he ranks as 
one of the foremost in history. His personal morality and that 
of his court was low. At the same time he must be judged by 
the standards of the day. Like other Teutonic monarchs, he was 
occasionally cruel and even inhuman. 2 

24. Conquests of Charles. — Some of the more important fea- 
tures of Charles's reign may be grouped under four heads : (1) 
His conquests. These comprised the Lombard kingdom in Italy, 
Saxony, Aquitaine, Bavaria, Bohemia, the Slavic lands along the 
Elbe and Drave, and portions of northern Spain. Thus he united 
the whole of central and a large part of western Europe under one 
rule — an empire unequaled since Roman days. 

1 By his Teutonic subjects he was called Karl ; by his Latin ones, Carolus ; and 
by the French he is known as Charlemagne, a name which is still often used. 
- At Verden (782) he ordered 4500 prisoners of war to be beheaded. 



560 APPENDIX I 

25. Relations of Charles with the Church. — (2) Charles re- 
garded the church as an inherent part of his empire. He saw to 
it that the Frankish church was carefully organized, and considered 
himself as the head of it. He presided at church councils, and 
kept constant oversight of the bishops. He believed it to be 
part of his religious duty to conquer the heathen and convert 
them to Christianity. 1 

26. Organization of Charles's Empire. — (3) Charles divided 
his empire into districts or counties, over each of which he placed 
an administrative officer known as a count. The counts repre- 
sented the emperor and presided at all assemblies of the people. 
Along the borders of his empire he established " marches " or 
" marks," over which he placed counts of the marks, or Margraves. 
These officers had intrusted to them great powers ; they com- 
manded armies and could act almost independently. Their 
special duties were to repel invasions. 2 

In order to keep himself informed of what was going on, as well 
as to exercise supervision over the counts, and to correct abuses, 
he created officers known as missi dominie i (the lord's messengers). 
They usually went in pairs, a bishop and a count, and they were 
expected to bring back full reports of the state of the empire. 
Charles traveled frequently and acquainted himself personally 
with the condition of affairs. He issued directions or instructions, 
called capitularies, which related to his estates, to matters of 
public interest, and to the church. There does not seem to 
have been any regular system of taxation, and the personal re- 
sources of Charles came from large estates which were carefully 
managed. 

27. Education, Literature, and the Arts under Charles. — (4) 
Charles was a lover of literature ; he sought out learned men and 
invited them to his court. Among these were Alcuin from York, 
and Paul the Deacon (Paulus Diaconus). He found that even 
bishops wrote incorrectly, and determined to have schools estab- 
lished at every monastery, not only for the monks, but for the 

1 Among the heathen tribes that he conquered were those of Saxony. 

2 William the Conqueror under similar conditions pursued a similar policy 
(History, § 46). 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 561 

youth of the vicinity. He did not, however, encourage the study 
of Teutonic languages, and it is largely due to him that for about 
five hundred years Latin was the literary language of Europe. 
This result was a natural one, because the teachers of religion were 
of the Latin church, whose services were in that language. They 
were the learned men, and they themselves having been educated 
in that tongue, Latin literature was their standard of excellence. 1 

Charles was fond of architecture and had many buildings erected. 
The most famous of these is the cathedral at Aachen (Aix-la- 
Chapelle), which he is said to have planned himself and in which 
he was buried. 

28. Coronation of Charles. 800. — The event which stands out 
above all others in the history of this great man was his coronation 
as Emperor at Rome on Christmas Day, 800, 2 by Pope Leo III. 

It has been said that " the coronation of Charles is not only 
the central event of the Middle Ages, it is also one of the very few 
events of which, taking them singly, it may be said if they had not 
happened, the history of the world would have been different." 3 
There is every reason to believe that if the Roman Empire had 
not been restored just then, it would not have been restored at all. 
There can be little doubt that Charles had some such end in view, 
but, according to best authorities, he had not expected it to come 
about just when and as it did. 

The occasion of Charles's visit to Rome was the ill treatment 
of the newly chosen Pope by Roman factions. Like his predeces- 
sor, Stephen, who appealed to Pippin with so much success, Leo 
personally appealed to Charles (799). The king was too busy to 
go to Rome then, but went in the following year, and acquitted 
Leo of charges against him. Two days later, Christmas Day, as 
Charles was attending service in St. Peter's, 4 while kneeling, the 
Pope placed upon his head a golden crown, anointed him with oil, 

1 There can be little doubt that to this movement, set on foot by Charles, we owe 
the preservation of many of the classics of antiquity, the manuscript copies of which 
might otherwise have perished. 

2 It was the custom then to begin the year on Christmas Day, hence the date of 
the coronation is sometimes given as 801. 

3 Bryce, " Holy Roman Empire, " chap, v, p. 50, ed. 1904. 

4 The old basilica of that name. 



562 APPENDIX I 

and gave him the kiss of peace, while the people cried out, " Long 
life and victory to the mighty Charles, the great and pacific Em- 
peror of the Romans, crowned of God." 

29. Meaning of the Coronation ; " The Holy Roman Empire." — 
Exactly what this act meant has been much discussed. It is, 
however, clear that the Pope had no legal right to crown ; that 
Charles had not claimed the crown by right of conquest; neither 
was he the nominee of the people of Rome, The most that can 
be said, is, that Charles was so eminently the man, that the Pope 
gave expression to what was indicated by circumstances and ap- 
proved by the popular mind. It was, in fact, an insurrection 
against the Eastern Empire, which was, nominally, the Roman 
Empire. Henceforth the Roman Empire was transferred to the 
West and Charles was its emperor. But the act meant more 
than the separation of the West from the East. It meant a close 
union of church and state ; it was the beginning of that idea 
which, though not developed until later, so deeply affected the whole 
life of medieval Europe: the idea that the state should be at once 
political and ecclesiastical — that the" Holy Roman Church and 
the Holy Roman Empire are one and the same thing, in two as- 
pects." On the spiritual side its head was the Pope, on the human 
and political, the Emperor. Charles, however, made little difference 
in his administration. He still named the bishops and abbots, 
he did not hesitate to speak strongly to the Pope, and unhesitatingly 
took the place of the protector and overseer of the church. 

30. Relations of Charles with England. — With England the 
relations of Charles were close. He asked for one of his sons the 
hand of Offa's daughter in marriage (790?) ; he sent gifts to the 
bishoprics of Mercia and Northumberland, and wrote letters to 
Offa (795); and it was the Englishman Alcuin who was at the 
head of his literary and educational plans. Charles maintained re- 
lations with the whole English church, and English exiles found his 
court a safe refuge. Egbert of Wessex in his youth probably saw 
the coronation at Rome, and from Charles doubtless learned some- 
thing of that statesmanship which afterwards served him so well. 

31. Charles's Reign an Epoch. — With the reign of Charles a new 
epoch began. The age of barbarism and of brute force had ended. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 563 

Rude and rough as the following ages were, there was a vast 
difference between them and the period of the inroads of the 
barbarians. It was the beginning of Medieval Times or the Middle 
Ages. Charles died in 814 and was succeeded by his son Louis 
the Pious, also known as Le Debonnaire. 

32. Disintegration of Charles's Empire. Louis the Pious and 
his Successors. 814-888. — Charles had left his empire in good 
order, and for some years the strength of the organization and of 
custom held it together ; but the forces of disruption were too 
strong for his successors to cope with. Charles, however, had given 
an ideal after which to strive. 

Among other disintegrating forces two may be mentioned here : 
1) the Teutonic custom of dividing an inheritance among the 
sons of a ruler, not unfrequently begun during the lifetime of the 
father; (2) the growth and development of different languages. 

Louis the Pious soon after his succession (817) associated three 
of his sons with him in the government, giving them more or less 
authority ; and at his death (840) the three surviving sons con- 
tinued the strife for mastery which had begun before their father's 
death. 1 This strife was brought to a close by the Treaty of Verdun 
(843). By the terms of this treaty Lothaire, the eldest, received 
the territory stretching from modern Belgium to Rome, with the 
title of Emperor ; Louis the German (or Ludwig) received Bavaria 
and part of what is now known as Germany ; while Charles the 
Bald, the youngest son, received what is nearly modern France. 
This is the first official recognition of the fact that Europe was 
being divided into nations speaking different languages. It was 
the beginning of France and Germany. In the kingdom of 
Charles the Bald the language spoken was already called Lingua 
Romana, the Roman tongue, a language founded on the old Latin 
spoken in Gaul ; while the language spoken in the dominions of 
Louis was called Lingua Tcudcsca, or German tongue. 2 The do- 

1 Even Charles the 3rea1 had divided his empire among his three sons (806), 
hut the death of two of them before their father left Louis an undivided inheritance. 

- This taet is show n 1>\ « h.it is known as the ( >aths of Strassburg (842). These 
were taken b) Charles and Louis, pledging themselves to support each other as 
against Lothaire. Ea -h king took the oath before his army, using the language tin- 
respective armies could understand. The text of these oaths has come down to us. 



564 



APPENDIX I 



minion of Lothaire, composed of many nationalities, was broken 
up by mountains, and had neither geographical, nor racial, nor 
lingual reasons for its existence, and was, almost from the first, the 
scene of many conflicts. 1 

33. Europe during the Ninth Century ; Rise of National Feel- 
ing. — The history of Europe for the next century is one of 
intrigue and unstable governments. New kingdoms were set up, 
some to exist only a short time. What took place in Great 
Britain happened also on the Continent on a larger scale. 

The underlying cause of the disintegration of the empire of 
Charles was the rise and development of new nationalities, shaped 
and modified largely by local conditions. In Gaul and in Italy 
the Teutons had become amalgamated with the old inhabitants 
and lost their original characteristics. They could no longer 
understand the speech of their forefathers. The inhabitants of 
the German lands, into which Roman life and civilization had 
never penetrated, inevitably tended to form nationalities Teutonic 
in race and language. Furthermore, the Teutonic idea that a king- 
dom was a private possession to be divided among the sons, led 
to great subdivision. Besides these a social and political insti- 
tution, known as feudalism, at once an effect and cause of the con- 
dition of affairs, exercised a powerful influence. 

34. Rise of Feudalism. — The origin of feudalism is obscure 
and was due to many causes, chiefly the military and economic 
conditions which surrounded the Teutonic peoples of western 
Europe. Its development was gradual, differing in different 
countries, and at different periods. In Gaul or France, the 
Christian portion of Spain, Italy, and Germany, it appeared 
during the latter part of the eighth century. In England, though 
it already existed in some of its features, it was introduced in a 
developed form by William the Conqueror. In the other Euro- 
pean countries and in the Christian states of the East it appeared 
still later. It was most fully developed in France. It was at 
its height in the thirteenth century, and then its influence began 

1 It may be noted that Louis was called King of the Germans, Charles, King of 
the Franks, but the middle kingdom had to be called the Kingdom of Lothaire. 
The title of Emperor carried with it no power. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 565 

slowly to lessen as new conditions came into being. It cannot 
be said, however, that its influence has ever wholly disappeared. 

35. Elements of Feudalism. — At its height there were three 
definite elements apparent: (1) The personal, or the personal 
relation between lord and vassal. 1 (2) The territorial, or where 
land was granted by a lord to a vassal on certain conditions, 
which varied greatly, the actual title to the fief remaining in the 
lord. The typical fief was land, but privileges of many kinds, of- 
fices, etc., also constituted fiefs. At first the relation was not neces- 
sarily an hereditary one, but in time it became so almost univer- 
sally. 2 (3) The governmental, where political jurisdiction was 
granted by a lord to a vassal. 

36. Effects of Feudalism. — It is easy to see that all holders of 
land or of power would be influenced by feudalism. Churches, 
monasteries, abbeys, bishops, abbots, and even cities would be 
sometimes lords and sometimes vassals. Thus feudalism affected 
every relation of life. The most obvious effect was the creation 
of petty domains, more or less independent. Every owner of 
land was a petty sovereign, every domain was a petty state. In 
such a condition of affairs a king would be often unable to per- 
form the duties belonging to his office, and the protection, which 
could not be obtained from king or emperor, would be sought for 
from those who were able to give it. The result was the impossi-" 
bility of a strong national government, hence national disorder 
and petty warfare. 

Feudalism pressed most hardly on the poor, for little right was 
recognized by the upper classes but that of might. The sword 
was the arbiter, and society was perhaps generally in a state of 

1 "The vassal promised his lord fidelity, aid, and counsel. Fidelity, that is not 
to injure him, nor fight against him, not to attack his wife or children. Aid, that is 
to aid him by fighting for him or by lending him his fortified house, or even by 
lending him money, and by money payments under certain conditions. Counsel, 
that is to come to him for the purpose of giving him counsel and especially to aid 
him in pronouncing judgment.'' The vassal also gave homage, that is, an oath 
binding him to the lord for life — in other words becoming his man. The lord on 
his part promised protection to the vassal. 

2 Some curious illustrations of hereditary rights and privileges were shown at 
the coronation of Edward VII (1902), and of George V (1911). In the case of 
land, if there were no legitimate heirs, it reverted to the lord or to the king. 



566 APPENDIX I 

war. That this was so is shown by the establishment (1041), by 
the church, of the "Truce of God," which forbade private war 
from Wednesday evening till Monday morning, and upon certain 
specific holy days and seasons. 1 Though the truce was often vio- 
lated, there can be no doubt that the effect was good. 

Wherever feudalism prevailed it was modified to suit existing 
conditions. It was helpful in that, besides affording some kind 
of order in an unruly age, it fostered the spirit of personal inde- 
pendence, and it tended to increase home life, improve the con- 
dition of woman, and bring about a closer relation between the 
lord and his vassals. 2 

37. The Northmen in Europe. 700-1000. — The invasion of 
England by the Danes (History, §§ 19-21) was part of a great 
movement which, beginning in the eighth century, extended far 
and wide. The early inhabitants of Sweden, Norway, and Den- 
mark belonged to the Teutonic race and were heathen. They 
are known as Scandinavians, Norsemen, or Northmen. 3 Exactly 
what was the reason for the migrations is not certainly known, but 
it was probably due to several causes, among them love of adven- 
ture, overpopulation, dissatisfaction with home conditions, rise of 
great rulers who put down private warfare, and possibly the pres- 
sure from behind and fear of the Huns. 

38. Expeditions of the Northmen. — Late in the eighth cen- 
tury, or early in the ninth, the Northmen began the conquest of 
the Orkneys, Shetlands, and Hebrides; about S74 they settled 
Iceland, and a century later Greenland was colonized ; and about 
the first of the eleventh century they visited North America, 
which they called Vinland, but it is not known whether they made 
any settlements there. 

1 The existence of such an arrangement shows the necessity for it. The num- 
ber of days in a year upon which private war was admissible was finally reduced to 
eighty. The penalty of violation was excommunication. 

2 The lord lived on an estate, his castle was his headquarters and place of resi- 
dence. Thus he was thrown into close and continued contact with his family and 
retainers, as neighbors were few and distant. In his absence, his wife was the 
head, and the possession of authority gave her position. 

3 As the invaders of England appear to have come chie iy from Denmark, they 
are called Danes. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 567 

Meantime, Northmen from what is now Sweden were crossing 
the Baltic and pushing eastward. By 862, Ruric, one of their 
great chiefs who had gained posssession of Kiev and Novgorod, 
set up a kingdom which was to develop into the Empire of 
Russia. 1 From Russia traders made their way to Constantinople ; 
and later, attracted by the wealth of the country, armed bands 
penetrated even to the walls of Constantinople. About the year 
1000 Vladimir, the Grand Prince of Russia, married a sister of 
the Eastern Emperor and became a Christian. Thus the Eastern 
or Greek church, became the church of Russia, and in later times 
the emperor became the head of the Greek church of Russia. 

39. Northmen in France (814-987) ; The Normans. — During 
the confusion following the death of Charles the Great there was 
scarcely a harbor or river mouth from the Elbe round to the 
Garonne that had not been the scene of incursions by the north- 
ern vikings. Like those who attacked England, they came, not 
only to plunder, but to settle. With a single exception their 
settlements were small ; and receiving no reinforcements from 
outside, the settlers at length became merged into the surrounding 
population and their identity and language were lost. 

The exception was in northern Gaul or France. The invaders 
in large numbers entered the mouth of the Seine, and after fifty 
years or more of warfare were strong enough to make serious raids 
into the surrounding territory. In 876 Rollo (or Rolf), the 
Northman, landed in France. He was an extraordinarily able 
man, and for thirty-six years, it was said, he ravaged northern 
France. In 888 he besieged Paris, but the city was successfully 
defended for about a year by Odo (or Eudes), Count of Paris. 
The power of the Northmen became so great that Charles the 
Simple finally bought Rollo off by granting him territory which he 
already held. He also gave him his daughter in marriage, and 
Rollo ultimately became a Christian. 2 Rollo's successors increased 
the territory and thus was founded Normandy. The Northmen 

1 In 1862 Russia celebrated the millennial of her foundation. 

2 There is so much of legend connected with Rollo's history, that it is impossible 
to separate the truth. Indeed it is by no means certain thai there was not more 
than one Rollo. 



568 APPENDIX I 

speedily adapted themselves to their new conditions, dropped 
most of their old customs, adopted the language of the country, 
somewhat modifying it, and so forming Norman-French, they 
themselves becoming Normans (History, § 21.) 

The influence of the Normans in France was great. During 
the long struggle between the Carolings (descendants of Charles) 
and the Dukes of Paris, the Northmen at first gave allegiance to 
the Teutonic Carolings, but when they became Norman-French 
they naturally turned to the French Dukes of Paris. So it came 
about that the powerful Dukes of Normandy supported the Dukes 
of Paris, and as a result Hugh Capet became king of France 
(987), and his descendants sat on the French throne for eight 
hundred years. 

40. Normans in England, 1066; In Italy. 1029-1135. — 
Normandy was well established and prosperous by the eleventh 
century, and became itself a starting point for expeditions, of 
which the most conspicuous was that led by Duke William to 
England (1066). Earlier than this, Normans from France settled 
in southern Italy, in time gained Sicily from the Saracens, who 
had made it one of their conquests, and early in the twelfth cen- 
tury set up the Norman kingdom of Naples, and by 1135 they 
controlled Sicily and all Italy south of Rome. 

41. Teutonic Empire ; Germany. 897-1125. — The Carolingian 
line came to an end in 911. By this time, owing partly to the 
weakness of the emperors ; partly to the attacks of the Northmen 
on the north and west, and the Slavs and Hungarians or Magyars 
on the east ; partly to the Teutonic love of independence — strong 
dukes had arisen, kings all but in name. 1 In the choice of a king 
recourse was now had to election, and the German nobles chose 
Conrad of Franconia (91 1-9 18). He had little power, and his 
troubled reign was followed by that of Henry of Saxony, known 
as Henry the Fowler, who was chosen by the nobles (919). 

42. Henry the Fowler; 919-936. — Henry was one of the 
great men of the Middle Ages. He followed as far as he could 
the policy of Charles the Great and did not attempt the impossible. 
He successfully repelled the invasions of the Northmen and 

1 The chief of these duchies were Saxony, Franconia, Swabia, and Bavaria. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 569 

Magyars, and recovered for Germany Lotharingia (Lorraine), 
which remained German till the eighteenth century. He built 
cities and fortresses and left a strong kingdom. In that he es- 
tablished the margravate of Brandenburg, which afterwards de- 
veloped into the kingdom of Prussia, he may in a sense be called 
the founder of that kingdom. 

43. Otto the Great. 936-973. — Henry was succeeded by his 
son, Otto I, the Great. Otto's first wife was Edith, daughter of 
Edward the Elder of England 1 (901-925). Otto acquired by 
policy what he could not acquire by force. He managed to 
gain control of the great duchies and greatly increased the power 
of the crown. 2 It was natural that he should wish to restore 
the empire. The condition of Italy, now in a state of anarchy, 
was favorable for carrying out such a scheme. He was ap- 
pealed to by the Pope for aid, and in 962 was crowned by him 
Emperor at Rome. 3 Otto had been crowned at Aachen (936) 
with the silver crown of Germany; at Pavia (962) with the iron 
crown of Lombardy ; and now with the golden crown of the 
Empire. 

The results of this coronation were far-reaching. It brought 
Italy and Germany, two incongruous elements, together politically, 
and in consequence the emperors were led into numerous Italian 
campaigns ; into struggles with the Papacy ; and too often to 
neglect or undervalue what should have been their chief work — 
the unification of Germany. The outcome was a divided Ger- 
many even to our own day. The coronation of Otto, moreover, 
was the real beginning of the so-called Holy Roman Empire, the 
ideal of which was " a world monarchy and a world religion," or, 

1 Edward's four daughters married, respectively, Charles the Simple, King of the 
West Franks; Louis, King of Lower Burgundy; Hugh the Great, Duke of 
France; and Otto. Edward's successor, Athelstane (925-940), also had close rela- 
tions with the continent. 

2 He seized lands where there were no direct heirs, or he claimed that by re- 
bellion lands were forfeited ; he succeeded by various means in getting the great 
duchies into the hands of relatives who would support him. 

3 No German had received the title since Arnulf (896). From this time until 
the end, in 1806, no one but a German did receive it, for Charles V was of German 
descent. 



57o 



APPENDIX I 



that the Pope should be the spiritual head of an empire of which 
the temporal head was the emperor 1 (§ 29). 

44. Conrad II (1024-1039) ; Henry III (1039-1056). Under 
Conrad II (1024-1039) and Henry III (1039-1056), both 
able men, the Medieval Empire reached its height. More 
than others they strengthened their power in Germany. One 
of Henry's great interests was the reform of the church. 
Rome, and indeed Italy, was given over to the selfish rule 
of men and factions. At one time (1046) there were three 
rival Popes, each claiming to be the true one. Henry caused all 
these to be deposed, and his own nominee to be chosen, and dur- 
ing the rest of his reign nominated the Popes himself. 

Henry was succeeded by his son Henry IV, a boy six years old, 
whose long reign of fifty years (1056-1 106) was marked by disaster. 
Henry, by no means a weak man, was the victim of circumstances. 
At Canossa, North Italy (1077), he suffered a great humiliation in 
begging forgiveness from Pope Gregory VII, and in 1106 was 
compelled to abdicate. He was succeeded by his son Henry V 
(1106-1125), who married Matilda, daughter of Henry I of 
England. 

45. Frederick Barbarossa (1 15 2-1 190). — Frederick Barbarossa 
(Red Beard) is a most interesting character. He had a great de- 
sire to restore the Roman Empire and claimed to have received 
the crown by divine right. He attempted an impossible task, but 
his efforts were marked by courage and well-directed, well-sustained 
plans. He was " the most imposing, the most heroic, and the 
most brilliant of the long line of German princes who strove to 
realize the impracticable but glorious political ideal of the Middle 
Ages." He is one of the great heroes of Germany, and after his 
death it was said that he was only waiting to reappear and establish 
a great empire. His contest with the Italian cities, and his death 
on a crusade are noticed elsewhere. 

46. The Emperors and the Popes ; Growth of the Papal Power. — 
Owing to the character of the Popes and the condition of Rome 
and Italy, the emperors had the upper hand. But during the 

1 This name gave rise to Voltaire's famous saying, that the empire was 
" neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire." 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL KUROPE 571 

eleventh century strong men occupied the papal chair, the power 
of the church increased, and a long struggle between the empire 
and the church for the supremacy was the result — a struggle which 
caused* much suffering, misery, and bloodshed. 

The growth of the influence and power of the Bishop of Rome 
was gradual. It was greatly helped by Rome ceasing to be the 
political capital, for as a result the Bishop, later to be called 
Pope, 1 became the chief official in the city. Moreover, it was 
universally believed that the Apostle Peter had been the first 
Bishop of Rome, and hence had conferred upon that church 
special distinction. It was not till the fifth century that the Pope, 
Leo the Great (440-461), took a commanding position. It is true 
that before his time Rome was recognized as the head of the 
Western church, but, in what the headship consisted is not easy 
to define. The Pope had three functions : (1) Bishop of Rome ; 
(2) head of the Western church ; (3) temporal ruler over ter- 
ritory. It was certain that occasions would arise when these 
functions would conflict. It is contrary to human experience 
that one man should possess the qualifications needful for each 
one of these positions. It takes but a cursory review of history to 
show that many, if not most, of the difficulties of the church arose 
from this threefold position of the Pope. 2 It was, again, from 
the often honest but mistaken attempt to carry out these functions 
that many of the deplorable occurrences which mark the history 
of the medieval church took place. 

Gregory I (590-604) perhaps first set forth what the Papacy 
might become, and a succession of able pontiffs did much to 
carry out his ideas. He governed Rome and protected it from 
the Lombards, and thus began the active temporal power of the 
Pope. Gregory was greatly interested in extending the bounds 

1 The word Pope is from the Italian papa, father. It was originally applied to 
all priests, and was not applied especially to the Bishop of Rome until some time in 
the sixth century, and was not confined 10 him until the eleventh century. 

2 A deeply religious man is not a character to cope with an unruly and factious 
population, or with the subtle policy of a trained and unprincipled diplomat. 
Neither is he one to plan a military campaign, or to face some of the problems of 
political government. Yet during medieval times in particular Popes were forced 
to meet such conditions. 



57 2 



APPENDIX I 



of Christianity, especially by means of missions. To him the 
conversion of England is largely due (History, § 14). Strong as 
was the empire at times, it never had any effective power beyond 
its own limits, but the church from its very nature influenced all 
nations where Christianity prevailed. The practice of appealing 
to Rome for advice or settlement of difficulties, not only religious, 
but also political, naturally grew up. All this tended to increase 
the influence of the church. This influence was strengthened 
by the publication of Pope Nicholas I (858-867) of documents 
called " Decretals," which ascribed extensive powers to the 
Pope. These powers were easily extended to a vast number of 
cases, as the line between temporal and spiritual was not easy to 
draw. 

47. Rise of Monasticism. — Another institution which exercised 
a great and far-reaching influence was monasticism (History, 
§ 100). . This system, already spoken of in some of its phases, 
took its rise in the East. The fundamental idea is that seclusion 
from the world and its temptations is the only way to attain the 
purest and highest spiritual life. The rough and turbulent condi- 
tions which followed the advent of the Barbarians intensified the 
feeling. Within the walls of the monastery or convent alone 
could the weak, the gentle, the pious, the studious hope to find 
rest and safety, for even the rude warriors, as a general thing, 
respected a convent. To establish and to enrich such institutions 
was believed to be commendable, and monarchs, as well as indi- 
viduals, bestowed upon them money, land, and privileges. 

48. Rule of St. Benedict. 528. — By the sixth century the 
number of monks had increased so much in Europe that a system 
of regulations to govern them was greatly needed. This was fur- 
nished by St. Benedict, who about 528 drew up a series of rules 
for the great establishment of Monte Cassino near Naples. This 
system was so well devised and practical that the " Rule of 
St. Benedict" rapidly spread and became the prevailing law for 
monastic communities in Europe. The chief requirements under 
this system were poverty, chastity, obedience, piety, and labor. 1 

1 Poverty applied only to the individual ; the community could acquire property 
without restriction, and many monasteries became very wealthy. Labor was an 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 



573 



49. Benefits of Monasticism. — Europe owes an immense debt 
to these monks. By copying manuscripts they preserved much 
classical and ecclesiastical literature, which else would have been 
lost ; they afforded scholars a place in which to work in safety ; 
they set a good example of intelligent labor by their personal 
share in it ; they were hospitable ; they cared for the poor ; they 
taught the youth of the neighborhood ; in many other ways also 
they helped to civilize and to soften the rudeness of the age. In 
later times, partly from the changed conditions of social life, 
partly from the influence of great acquired wealth, they often fell 
from their high estate, and no longer exercised the beneficial in- 
fluence of earlier days. 1 

The monks were naturally supporters of the Papacy, and had it 
not been for their presence in every Christian country the papal 
influences would have been very much less strong. In addition 
to their other duties the monks were great missionaries, and to 
them the conversion of the Teutonic tribes is due. 2 

50. Cluniac Rule. — By the ninth century the Benedictine Rule 
had lost very much of its force. Often the abbots were worldly 
men, and the accumulated wealth was largely used for the enjoy- 
ment of the monks ; instead of working themselves, they employed 
others ; and the spiritual life was often at a very low ebb. A 
reform or revival moment began in the latter part of the tenth 
century at the abbey of Cluny in Burgundy,^ which was founded 
in 910. From this monastery a wave of reform passed over 
Europe. Old monasteries were reformed and new ones set up. 
The Cluniac system differed from the Benedictine in some essential 
features, one of which was that every Cluniac establishment was 
part of a great system known as the " Congregation of Cluny." 

essential part of the Benedictine system. Every one was to work according to his 
mental and physical capacity. As compared with eastern systems, the Benedictine 
was full of common sense. 

1 The Benedictine Rule was carried into England by St. Augustine (597), and 
among the earliest foundations were Canterbury, St. Albans, Westminster, Glaston- 
bury, and Jarrow. 

2 The monks were called the " regular " clergy, because they lived according to 
a rule (regula), to distinguish them from "secular" clergy, who continued to live 
in the world (sceculitm) and took no monastic vows. 

8 About thirty miles southwest of Dijon, France. 



574 



APPENDIX I 



In the eleventh and twelfth centuries other orders were formed, 
in some respects stricter than the Cluniac. Such were the 
Carthusians (1084); the Cistercians (1098); and the Carmelites 
(1156). In the thirteenth century arose the Franciscans and 
Dominicans who are spoken of elsewhere (§§ 70, 71). The Cluniac 
Rule not only called for a distinct separation of the church from 
any secular control, but also made the church supreme. 

51. Hildebrand (Gregory VII) (1020 ?-io8s). —The church 
found an extraordinarily able champion of this position in Hilde- 
brand (io2o?-io85), afterwards Pope Gregory VII. Hilde- 
brand was the son of a Tuscan peasant and was educated in a 
Roman monastery. He became the chaplain of Gregory VI ; the 
advisor of Nicholas II; and then Pope himself as Gregory VII 
(1073-1085). Hildebrand, though not the originator of the new 
doctrines, dared to carry them further than any one else toward 
their logical conclusion. Having directed the policy of the 
Papacy for years before he came to the throne, he understood the 
condition of affairs far more clearly than most men, and saw that 
in order to make the church supreme it must choose its own head 
— the Pope — independently of Roman emperor or Roman 
populace. This point was gained under Nicholas II by a decree 
of the Lateran Council or Synod (1059), by which the choice of a 
Pope was intrusted to the College of Cardinals. 1 

52. Celibacy of the Clergy. — In order to bind the interests of 
the clergy more closely to the church, he resolved to enforce the 
celibacy of the clergy, so that no family ties might divide their 
attention. There had been from comparatively early days a 
strong but by no means universal feeling in the church that it was 
better that the clergy should be unmarried. At various times 
efforts had been made to enforce celibacy, but in vain. Not- 
withstanding great opposition Gregory persisted, and before he 
died success was practically assured. 

1 Previous to this time the cardinals were the principal clergy of the Roman 
diocese who, when called upon by the Pope, acted as his advisors. It was a title, 
not an office. This action of 1059 was only the beginning; the system was not 
fully developed for a century. It is a curious fact that Hildebrand himself was 
chosen Pope (1073), not by tne cardinals, but by the Roman populace after the old 
fashion. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 575 

53. The Church and the Civil Power. — Another and more im- 
portant matter was the effort to gain for the church absolute 
freedom from the control of the civil government everywhere. 
Gregory claimed that the Pope, as God's representative upon 
earth, was the master of emperors, kings, and rulers. To 
resist the Pope was to resist God. 1 The great weapons to 
enforce this position were excommunication or expulsion from 
the church, making the excommunicated one an outlaw ; and 
the interdict, by which all religious services in a country ex- 
cept baptism and extreme unction were suspended. This effort 
involved the extinction of simony, for there would be no oppor- 
tunity of buying or selling benefices if the matter of appoint- 
ment or investiture was taken out of lay hands. 

54. Gregory's Claims ; Investitures. — It was inevitable that 
these claims of Gregory should precipitate a conflict. Many 
bishoprics, monasteries, abbeys, and other religious foundations held 
lands as fiefs under conditions similar to those of a duke, baron, 
or ordinary lay feudal lord. The church, indeed, was the largest 
landholder in Christendom. If Gregory's plan should be carried 
out, all feudal ties which had hitherto bound ecclesiastical fiefs to 
temporal lords would be loosed. Besides this, Gregory forbade 
any cleric to accept any spiritual fief from a layman, and also for- 
bade, under pain of excommunication, any layman, whatever 
his rank, from investing a bishop or abbot with his ecclesiastical 
office. 

This edict (1075) was revolutionary, and could not be accepted 
by the temporal rulers, for it would mean the downfall of their 
civil power. The result everywhere was struggle. It was not 
until the Concordat of Worms (1122) that a compromise was 
reached, practically on the same basis as that agreed upon (1106) 
by Henry I of England and Anselm (History, § 53). But this 
applied only to Germany. 2 The great conflict between the 

1 Gregory claimed homage from William the Conqueror and from the rulers of 
Bohemia, Hungary, Denmark, Spain, and even Russia. 

2 The agreement between Pope Calixtus II and the Emperor Henry V was that 
the emperor gave up his claim to invest with the insignia of the spiritual office, and 
the Pope his claim to invest with the temporal power. This, however, left many 
questions unsettled. 



576 APPENDIX I 

church and temporal powers is known as the " Struggle of the 
Investitures." 

Gregory made a practice of sending legates to the different 
European courts to represent the papacy, to supervise the clergy, 
to gain information of the church in various countries, and to ex- 
ercise an influence in favor of the church in all lands. Thus the 
Pope was kept in touch with the clerics everywhere. 

55. Reverses of Gregory. — Notwithstanding Gregory's great 
success, he experienced a bitter reverse at the hands of his old 
foe, Henry IV, whom he had humiliated at Canossa (§ 44), 
and had twice excommunicated. Henry set up an antipope, 
gained Rome after a two years' siege, and Gregory in the end 
took refuge at Salerno, where he relaxed no effort to regain his 
position. He died in 1085 and is reported to have said, " I have 
loved righteousness, and hated iniquity, therefore I die an exile." 1 

56. The Eastern Empire a Bulwark ; its Culture. — The Eastern 
Empire, weak as it was, served as a bulwark between Europe and 
the eastern and northeastern Barbarians. Though it had lost 
most of its territory and several times had seemed on the point 
of extinction, it survived, and, now and then, under able em- 
perors, possessed considerable power. Moreover the empire not 
only served as a bulwark, but, at Constantinople, had preserved 
during the early Middle Ages civilization, general refinement of 
life, the arts, and literature in a far greater degree than else- 
where. 

57. The Seljuk Turks, 1071 ; their Conquests. — A period of 
anarchy prevailed during the middle of the eleventh century, of- 
fering a good opportunity to the enemies of the Eastern Empire 
for attacking her. In 107 1 the Seljuk Turks 2 conquered Asia 
Minor and threatened Constantinople. The Emperor Alexius I, a 
shrewd and crafty man, who had seized the throne in 1081, did 

1 Gregory was one of (he great men of history. He was, however, a statesman 
rather than a prelate, and would have been more in place as emperor than as Pope. 
His honesty of motive can scarcely be questioned, and he can hardly be blamed 
for attempting the impossible. As it is, his influence on the church and on the 
world has been lasting. 

2 The Seljuk Turks were a rude and rough people from central Asia. They are 
to be distinguished from the Ottoman Turks of a later day. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 577 

his best to drive the Turks from Asia Minor, but without suc- 
cess. In 1095 Alexius sent ambassadors to Pope Urban II, beg- 
ging him to rouse Christendom to save the Eastern Empire and 
church. 1 

For centuries Jerusalem and its holy places had been the object 
of pilgrimages by thousands from Europe. Under the rule of the 
Arabs these pilgrims had for the most part been welcomed. But 
the Seljuk Turks, who gained Jerusalem in 1076, though Moham- 
medans, cared nothing for civilization or holy places, and looked 
upon the pilgrims as intruders to be plundered, tortured, and 
killed. So pilgrimages were roughly brought to an end, much to 
the grief and dismay of Europeans. 

58. Council of Clermont. 1095. — The appeal of Alexius wa's 
welcomed by Urban, and at the conclusion of a council at Cler- 
mont, France, November, 1095, a crusade was proclaimed by a 
speech from the Pope himself. As this speech was delivered in 
French it was understood by all, and certainly, as has been said, 
" No other oration has ever been able to boast of as wonderful 
results." The people shouted, " God wills it," and rushed to 
assume the cross, the symbol of the vow. 2 Thus began one of the 
greatest movements in the history — the Crusades. 3 Although the 
safety of the Eastern Empire and the church had been the plea 
of the emperor, the Pope and the crusaders ignored that and made 
the recovery of the holy places from the infidels the first object of 
their efforts. 

59. The Crusades, 1096-1290; Reasons for Them. — It has 
been customary to speak of several crusades, and even as many as 
eight are named. But this is scarcely correct, for there was for 
about two hundred years (1096-1 290) a constant movement from 
west to east, and in fact a crusade was always in progress. 

This great movement was begun and carried on from various 

1 The Eastern Empire had already called upon Gregory VII (1074), who had 
actually raised an army, but was prevented by the German troubles from doing any- 
thing. 

2 " Crusade," from the Latin crux, a cross. Each crusader bore a cross worked 
or sewn upon his coat. 

3 It is often stated that' Peter the Hermit started the movement, but records show 
that it was Urban who roused Peter, not the reverse. 



578 APPENDIX I 

motives. While many men were inspired with religious zeal, others 
saw opportunities for satisfying their love of warfare and adventure, 
some saw an escape from financial or other difficulties at home, 
others an escape from the consequences of crime, many others a 
field for commercial gain, and others went simply from a feeling 
of restlessness. The Pope and church officials hoped for an ex- 
tension of the church, and perhaps a union of the eastern and 
western churches ; the kings and the greater barons encouraged 
the movement, because thereby many of the smaller barons would 
be taken out of the country, their possessions would be pledged to 
raise money, and would ultimately come under the control, if not 
ownership, of the monarch or great barons. The church relieved 
the crusader from penance for sins, excused him while absent 
from interest on his debts, took his wife and children and property 
under its protection, and granted many other privileges. 

Along with the penitent, the knight, and adventurer, particularly 
after the earlier years, went the merchants. These were chiefly 
from Genoa, Pisa, and Venice. They furnished the crusader with 
arms and supplies ; for these they not only exacted very full prices, 
but also great privileges and rewards in case of conquests. The 
commercial features of the Crusades have been too much over- 
looked. 

60. First Expeditions. 1096. — The first expeditions, which 
consisted of extraordinary armies of untrained, undisciplined men 
of all kinds and descriptions, * started from Germany in the spring 
of 1096, marched to Constantinople, and having been aided by 
the wily Alexius, who wished to be rid of them, crossed over into 
Asia Minor, where most of them perished from exposure and dis- 
ease, or at the hands of the Turks. Later in the year (1096) 
several military expeditions left Europe under different leaders, 
the chief of whom were Godfrey of Boulogne, 2 and Bohemond, 
son of Robert Guiscard, the Norman, of southern Italy. Robert 
of Normandy, son of William the Conqueror, was also one of them. 
Indeed, the majority of the knights were French and Normans. 
These expeditions went overland, and met near Nicsea, Asia Minor, 

1 Even women and children helped to swell the ranks. 

2 Often, but incorrectly, called Bouillon. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 



579 



in 1097. After gaining control of that city, the expedition marched 
to Antioch, which was taken in July, 1098, and Jerusalem itself in 
1099. Thus the ostensible object was gained. 

61. Kingdom of Jerusalem (1099-1187) ; its Extent and Char- 
acter. — A kingdom of Jerusalem was set up, and other lands were 
acquired until there was under control of the Franks a strip of ter- 
ritory in Syria along the Mediterranean a little over five hundred 
miles long and about fifty miles wide. 1 The Europeans were, with 
the exception of the Italian merchants, almost wholly French. 
Altogether they were few in number compared with the Syrians. 
The territory was occupied rather than owned. As time went on 
the relations with the Moslems grew more friendly, commerce 
with Europe increased, and the carrying to and fro of the numer- 
ous pilgrims became a profitable business for the merchants whose 
interests made them averse to war. 

All this time it was the divisions among the Moslems rather 
than the strength of the Franks that allowed the continuance of 
the Frankish rule. The crusaders were imbued with the spirit of 
feudalism, so that, where if ever a strong central goverment was 
needed, a well-developed feudal system was established with all 
its disintegrating influences. 

For the help of the pilgrims and for the defence of the Holy 
Sepulcher at Jerusalem, military religious orders were founded — 
the Templars, the Hospitallers, and the Teutonic Knights. 2 These 
orders were intended to combine the monk and soldier. For 
many years the first two of these orders exercised great influence, 
and acquired great power and wealth. 

For fifty years the Frankish principalities continued with com- 
paratively little change. Then Edessa, a great stronghold of the 
Franks, fell (1144) before a Moslem leader who had united the 

1 All Europeans were called Franks by the Orientals. Besides the small king- 
dom of Jerusalem, going northward, there were the principalities of Tripolis, An- 
tioch, and Edessa, each under a crusading noble. 

2 The Templars (1119), so called from the temple of Solomon near the site of 
which was their dwelling-place in Jerusalem ; Hospitallers, from the Hospital of 
St. John in Jerusalem, where the brotherhood originally nursed the sick ; this broth- 
erhood afterwards bore the titles Knights of St. John, and Knights of Malta. It is 
still in existence. The Teutonic Knights were a German order. 



580 APPENDIX I 

Turks. This disaster led to the so-called second crusade urged hy 
St. Bernard. The expedition however, was a dismal failure. 

62. Saladin (1137-1 192).— The relation of the Franks with the 
Moslems in Egypt had been for the most part friendly. There 
had, however, arisen in Egypt an able leader, who, though nom- 
inally under the Turks, was practically independent. This was 
Saladin, the most upright, the ablest, the most enlightened, and 
most generous of the foes whom the crusaders had met. He 
wished to live on good terms with the Franks, but they often vio- 
lated their pledges. 1 At length Saladin attacked them, and in 
1 187 took Jerusalem. This led to the third crusade, in which 
Richard I of England, Philip Augustus of France, and Frederick 
Barbarossa all took part. Frederick went by land, 2 Richard and 
Philip by sea. The early expeditions had all been overland by 
way of Asia Minor ; the later ones went by sea — a much safer as 
well as shorter journey. Many vessels were needed for transpor- 
tation ; this led to the building of many ships, to improvements in 
their construction, to the increase of skilled mariners, and to the 
growth of commerce. Richard and Philip Augustus quarreled 
after the capture of Acre (11 91), Philip returned to France, and 
Richard in 1192 arranged a truce with Saladin by which pilgrims 
could visit Jerusalem in safety. 

63. End of Christian Rule in Syria. 1191. — The Chris- 
tians continued to hold territory in Syria for nearly a century 
longer ; by negotiation, possession was gained even of Jerusalem 
and a few other sacred sites, but in 1244 Jerusalem was captured 
by the Turks, and has ever since remained in their hands. In 
1 291 Acre, the last stronghold of the Christians, fell, and with it 
all Christian possessions in Syria and Palestine were lost. 

64. Latin Empire of the East. (1204-1261). — Whatis known 
as the fourth crusade (1 202-1 204) differs from the others in that 
it not only never reached its nominal destination, but was, by the 
skill of the Venetians, who had agreed to transport the forces, 

1 It was a common doctrine of the day that no pledge with an infidel was binding. 

2 Frederick naturally took the overland route. In attempting to cross the river 
Selef (Cydnus) in Asia Minor he was drowned (i 190), and of his demoralized 
army many returned to Germany by sea, and a remnant only reached Syria. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 58 1 

changed into an attack upon Constantinople, with the result of 
setting up a Latin Empire in that capital, which lasted for more 
than fifty years (1204-1261), and also of vastly increasing the 
possessions and commercial influence of Venice, which she re- 
tained until the fifteenth century. 

65. Results of the Crusades. — It is not easy to measure the 
extent of the influence of the crusades upon Europe. They 
certainly aided and hastened many inevitable social and political 
changes. Great numbers of men from all countries of Europe 
visited the East ; they had gone both by land and by water ; they 
saw a great variety of life and conditions and came back with 
minds broadened by their experiences and observation. They 
met people far more civilized than themselves, having comforts 
and luxuries of which they had been ignorant; they met men 
of education and refinement, and, returning full of new ideas, they 
could not rest satisfied with their old conditions. They brought 
back many articles of use and luxury. Commerce was greatly 
increased, the communication between various countries became 
more frequent, and definite and regular lines of travel and trade 
were established. 

The crusades greatly enriched Venice, Genoa, and Pisa, and 
indeed all Italy, giving it that preeminence in commerce, litera- 
ture, and art which so profoundly affected all Europe. 

The crusades weakened feudalism, and brought into existence, 
or strengthened, elements which led to its steady decline and 
permanent decay. Men became enamored of city life, turned 
more and more to trade and manufacturing, the tendency of 
which is to destroy feudalism. 

We may also trace modern systems of banking and finance to 
the crusades. Under feudalism there was little need of money or 
banks, but for the crusader money or its equivalent was a necessity. 
He must buy his outfit and he must pay for his supplies on the 
journey with money of some kind. Hence arose money lenders 
and banks. 

One remarkable feature of the crusades was the absence of con- 
certed effort. Each king or leader looked out first and always 
for his own interests, a practice which led to constant quarreling. 



582 APPENDIX I 

Bad as this was for the crusade, it intensified national feeling, and 
greatly aided the growth of nationalities. 

The crusades ceased for several reasons. One of the most in- 
fluential was the general advance in civilization and in the comforts 
of life, which made men reluctant to leave their homes. Other 
reasons were the growth in tolerance, the recognition that God 
could be served in better ways than by making pilgrimages, the 
increase in commercial enterprises, and the much greater attrac- 
tion of national and international affairs. 

66. Origin of Towns ; Rise of Cities and Towns. — The gen- 
eral confusion which resulted from the inroads of the barbarians 
was not conducive to town life, and until after the close of the 
first crusade (1099) European towns were of little importance. 1 
From the twelfth century, however, the rise and development of 
town life is a most important feature in European history. The 
origin of some towns, as was the case even in England, went back 
to Greek or Roman times, but the majority were founded after 
the eleventh century. These owe their existence either to trade 
or manufacturing. Sometimes a village, built near a castle for 
protection, if well situated for trade, would grow up into a town 
walled round for greater safety ; others, established with special 
privileges by the lord of the manor, or because of some river or 
harbor or overland route, would grow and for safety would be pro- 
tected by walls and fortresses. The needs of the crusaders greatly 
hastened the growth of towns, as only in such centers could sup- 
plies be procured. 

The trade and manufacture which inevitably followed increased 
the wealth and power of the citizens, brought them into contact 
with the outside world, and not only increased their desires, but 
enabled them successfully to demand, not only relief from feudal 
burdens, but also extensive privileges, which in many cases led to 
practical, if not actual, independence. Not only that, but the 
great commercial cities like Venice, Genoa, and Florence gained 
large possessions elsewhere and became political states. Other 
city communities for the same reasons acquired political rights 
and privileges by charters. 

1 The character of the country life has already been touched upon. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 583 

67. Overland Trade ; Money. — There also sprang up an ex- 
tensive overland trade with the East, and also with various parts 
of Europe, on the lines of which there grew up great distributing 
towns such as Ulm, Augsburg, Nuremburg, and many other cen- 
ters where not only trade but manufacturing flourished. 

The influence of these cities on social and economic conditions 
can hardly be overestimated. Their ships and merchants visiting 
various countries brought many nations into close communication. 
The use of money and bills of exchange in mercantile transactions 
led to a great increase in money payment for all kinds of service 
and for rents, and also to definite contracts instead of the vague 
and easily violated rules based upon feudal tenure or custom. 

68. Political Results of Municipal Life. — Though cities them- 
selves became feudal lords, the spirit of city life was against feudal- 
ism, and monarchs and rulers often found in cities their strongest 
support against powerful barons. Besides this the cities formed 
leagues for mutual defence and to preserve and to increase their 
trade and commerce. 1 They became free and independent. 
One of the most notable examples of the power of the medieval 
cities is the struggle of Frederick I (Barbarossa), for the control 
of the North Italian or Lombard cities. In the end the cities 
were successful in gaining practical independence (1183). 

The close of the twelfth century found all Europe greatly ad- 
vanced in civilization and refinement, and with new political, social, 
and economic conditions. The tendency was toward the forma- 
tion of nationalities with greater centralization of power. This 
very tendency, however, increased the struggle for control be- 
tween the civil and ecclesiastical powers, a conflict which reached 
its height early in the thirteenth century. 

iThe most noted of these are the Hanseatic League (Lubeck, Hamburg, 
Bremen, etc.) begun in the thirteenth century, which later numbered eighty-five 
cities and controlled the commerce of northern Europe; the Swabian League 
(1244) ; and the League of the Rhine (1254), which at one time comprised about 
sixty towns. 



CHAPTER II 
CONTINENTAL EUROPE— 1200-1481 

69. Coming of the Friars. 1220-1224. — There had long been 
in the church men and women who gave themselves, as they 
believed, to the service of God by retiring into monasteries or 
convents, and spending their lives in religious occupations 
(§ 47). The principle upon which their life was based was 
retirement from the world. Early in the thirteenth century, how- 
ever, a movement arose resulting in the establishment of new reli- 
gious orders known as friars. Their primary object was exactly 
the reverse of that of the monks. As has been well said, " The 
monks had made it their object to save their own souls ; the 
friars made it their object to save the bodies and souls of others." 
The monks withdrew from the world ; the friars threw themselves 
into the midst of the world. 

The rise of the friars was due to two men far separated from 
each other, who, at about the same time, were moved by similar 
impulses — Francis of Assisi, Italy (1182-1226), and Dominic of 
Spain (11 70-1221). 

70. The Franciscans. — Francis, the son of a wealthy man, after 
a serious illness, had wholly changed the character of his life. 
He gave up wealth and all its possibilities, and devoted himself to 
a life of poverty and of devotion to the sick and afflicted among 
the poor, living entirely on the bounty of others. A band of 
followers like-minded with himself soon gathered around him. 
The movement spread, and in 1209 the Pope, Innocent III, 
constituted them into an order of brethren, in Latin, fratres, 
from which our word " friars " comes. Later they were called 
Franciscans after their founder, or Minorites, or Mendicant Friars. 1 

1 " Minorites," from the Latin Fratres Minores, or lesser brethren ; Francis said 
they were to be less than the least of Christ's servants. " Mendicant " from the 
Latin word to beg. 

584 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 585 

The friars took the vow of poverty, and were to beg their bread 
from day to day. As they had nothing of their own they could 
appeal to the poorest. Their dress was a coarse robe tied round 
the waist with a rope. 

71. The Dominicans. — Dominic, unlike Francis, was a church- 
man and student of theology. His heart was stirred by the 
amount of heresy he found, particularly in southern France, 
and he determined to devote his life to the extirpation of heresy 
and the spread of orthodox teaching. Like Francis, his earnest- 
ness aroused a sympathetic feeling in the hearts of others, and he 
was joined by a band of followers, and in time Pope Innocent III 
sanctioned the formation of an order. This rapidly grew, and by 
1 22 1 the movement had attained large proportions and had 
sixty monasteries in western Europe, Like the Franciscans, the 
Preaching Friars or Dominicans were to be brothers, and like 
them also they were to be mendicants, because in this way those 
to whom they carried their message would know that they had no 
selfish motives, and that their only desire was to win men to Christ. 

72. Mission of the Friars. — Going about from place to place, 
the friars were the carriers of news, they came into the closest 
contact with the people, and understood the popular needs and 
aspirations as no others did. The lives of the clergy were too 
often marked by selfishness, worldliness, neglect of the poor 
and needy, and by political rather than spiritual interests. These 
things had alienated very many from the church. To such, the un- 
selfishness, the devotion, the tireless energy, and the practical 
sympathy of these friars made a powerful appeal. 

The Franciscans, while in no way neglecting the country, de- 
voted themselves particularly to the slums of the cities and towns, 
the condition of which was beyond description. The Dominicans, 
whose chief mission was the extirpation of heresy, never were as 
influential in England as on the Continent, because in England 
heresy had not attained great headway. To these mendicant 
orders is chiefly due the revival of religious life in the thirteenth 
century. 

Though Francis had condemned learning as hurtful to spirit- 
uality, the contact with ignorance, and the fact that educated men 



586 APPENDIX I 

were drawn into the order, changed this, and the Franciscans be- 
came teachers as well as preachers and missionaries. 

73. Rise of Universities. — The thirteenth century was a time 
of great intellectual activity. During the troublous reign of Henry 
III, Oxford was one of the great intellectual centers of Europe. 
Cambridge also, though to a less extent, was an abode of learning 
(History, § 101). But the higher education was almost wholly for 
the training of priests and clergy. 

The course of instruction was divided into seven main subjects, 
called " the seven liberal arts," which were subdivided into the 
Trivium and the Quadrivium. The Trivium embraced Grammar, 
or the use of words ; Rhetoric, or the form of words ; and Logic, 
or reasoning. The Quadrivium embraced Arithmetic, Geometry, 
Astronomy, and Music. 1 

After the seven liberal arts were mastered, further instruction 
was given in Divinity, Law, Medicine, etc. It was natural that 
the teachers of these different subjects should associate together, 
and from such association sprung the university, and later the 
separate college. 2 

The student body included men of all ages from fifteen and 
even younger, to forty and over. Special privileges were granted 
them, and the lives they led were often full of rioting and disorder. 
The universal use of Latin by scholars for writing and speaking 
made it easy for a student to change his university. There is no 
doubt that this fashion of wandering from university to university 
had a good educational effect in widening the knowledge of persons 
and places. 

74. Pope Innocent III. 1 198-1216. — Emperor Frederick Bar- 
barossa, by the marriage of his son Henry, afterwards Henry VI, 
with Constance, heiress of the kingdom of Sicily, in time gained 
Sicily and south Italy for the empire. It was a blow for the 
Papacy to lose its Norman allies. But Henry VI died in 1198? 
leaving an infant son, afterwards the renowned Frederick II. 

The election of Innocent III to the papal chair (1198) gave the 

1 These subjects covered a wider field than their names denote at present. 

2 The word 'ttiversitas (university) at first meant a union, or corporation, and 
the union or association of teachers came to be called a university. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 587 

Papacy perhaps its ablest head in all history. He was a member 
of a noble Roman family, and had been highly educated, studying 
at both Paris and Bologna. He was only about thirty-seven 
when chosen Pope, and reluctantly accepted his elevation, but 
when once seated on the throne, no Pope surpassed him in his 
claims for the office. "As the moon," he declared, " receiveth 
her light from the sun, so do kings receive their authority from the 
Holy See." That this was no idle boast is shown by what he 
accomplished. He secured from Constance, the widow of Henry 
VI, guardian of Frederick II, the vassalage of the kingdom of 
Sicily ; in opposition to Philip of Swabia, who, elected by the 
nobles, claimed to be emperor, he set up Otto of Brunswick, 1 and 
crowned him emperor (1209); he forced Philip Augustus of 
France to take back Ingeborg of Denmark, whom he had divorced ; 
he deposed John of England and only restored him on his abject 
submission (History, § 86) ; he interfered with the internal affairs 
of Portugal, and of the Spanish states of Leon, Castile, and Aragon, 
and also in Bohemia, Bulgaria, Dalmatia, and Hungary. In these 
cases Innocent did what he believed to be best for the interests 
of the Papacy, not for the interests of the peoples concerned, or 
on moral or religious grounds. Thus, though Philip Augustus was 
severely handled for his divorce of Ingeborg and his immoral life, 
not a word relating to morals was said to John of England, who" 
was notoriously immoral. Innocent was the arbiter of Europe. 

75. Results of Innocent's Policy. — The logical result of such 
a policy as that of Innocent is the destruction of national life and 
the right of the people to choose their own rulers. As soon as 
this fact was recognized, resistance, monarchical and popular, was 
inevitable. Hence the steady opposition to the Pope in medieval 
times. It was based on political, not on religious, grounds. Even 
Otto of Brunswick himself, whom Innocent set up and crowned, 
deserted him and entered the anti-papal ranks. 2 

1 Otto was the son of Matilda, daughter of Henry II of England, and so a nephew 
of Richard I and John. His brother William was the Brunswick ancestor of George 
I of England. 

2 Frederick II at a later period, when one of his supporters was raised to the 
papal chair as Innocent IV (1243), is reported to have said, " I have lost a friend; 
no Pope can be a Ghibelline " (a name given to the supporters of the empire). 



588 APPENDIX I 

The great weapons of the Papacy — excommunication and the 
interdict — at first had enormous influence both on nations and 
individuals ; but later, when it was found that men could live 
notwithstanding them, their use often injured rather than aided 
the Popes who employed them. 1 These papal claims were a great 
force in Europe for about a century, for not till the death of Boni- 
face VIII ( 1 294-1303) did they suffer a permanent decline. 

76. Heresy and Heretics. — Owing to the general belief that 
religion was inextricably connected with the state and social order, 
heresy was regarded with feelings very different from those of the 
present day. 2 A heretic was a rebel against the social order" as 
well as the church. This accounts for the curious fact that mem- 
bers of the clergy could be accused of all sorts of lapses from vir- 
tue and morals with little effect upon the estimation of the church 
in general ; but to accuse a man of heresy was like accusing him 
of treason. Indeed heresy was by many regarded as treason of 
the worst kind, for it was treason both to God and the state. 

Independent minds have existed in all ages, and the medieval 
theory of the church was sure to stir up dissent and opposition. 
Heretics were of two kinds : (1) unbelievers in the main doctrines 
of Christianity ; (2) dissenters from some of the practices and the 
doctrines of the church. 

77. The Albigenses ; Simon de Montfort the Elder; The In- 
quisition. — Representatives of the first class were the Cathari 
(pure ones), better known as the Albigenses. These were numer- 
ous in southern France. Innocent was strong against heresy and 
strove by every means in his power to extirpate it. He tried send- 
ing missionaries, but these failing, he organized (1203) a crusade 
against them. This, led by Simon de Montfort the Elder (History, 
§ in, Note), was carried out relentlessly, and the Albigenses were 
extirpated. In connection with this crusade was established the 

1 This was true even with Innocent. Thus the interdict was so keenly felt in 
France that, after less than a year, Philip Augustus gave way. But in England 
the almost contemporary interdict in John's reign had much less effect. John was 
able to brave it and excommunication for four years, and only yielded when 
threatened with a French invasion. 

2 This fact should always be taken into consideration in forming judgments of 
the men of the Middle Ages. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 589 

Inquisition for the trial of the heretics. There is no reason to 
suppose that at first the methods of this court differed much from 
the ordinary courts of the day, but the fact that the court was not 
only to try heretics, but to search for heresy, made it a weapon 
easily misused and liable to become the instrument of severe 
persecution. 

78. TheWaldenses. — TheWaldenses are examples of the second 
class of so-called heretics. They were followers of Peter Waldo, 
who lived in the twelfth century. They were dissenters from the 
church chiefly in the matter of practice. They taught that the 
Bible was sufficient for guidance, that the simple organization 
of early Apostolic days was enough. In furtherance of their 
views they translated portions of the Bible and circulated them. 
They attacked the luxury and worldliness in the church. They 
consisted chiefly of country people and mountaineers in Piedmont. 
In spite of severe persecution they survived, and now form a 
branch of the Protestant church in Italy. 

79. The Emperor Frederick II, 1210-1250. — Frederick II, 
left by his mother Constance to the guardianship of Innocent III 
(§ 74), is one of the most remarkable men in European history. 
Brought up in Sicily under the influence of Arabian, Norman, 
and Greek culture, he was highly educated, and became imbued 
with such a feeling of intellectual independence that he was 
charged with being a heretic and an unbeliever. Though an 
Italian by training, he had dreams of restoring the empire, and when 
invited in his eighteenth year by some discontented German nobles 
to come to Germany, he went thither to secure the imperial crown 
(1212). He gained the support of the Pope by acknowledging 
the papal suzerainty over Sicily and Naples, and secured the ad- 
herence of a numbe-r of the German nobles. He also made an 
alliance with Philip Augustus of France (§ 90). 

80. Battle of Bouvines. 1 214. — Otto IV, recognizing that his 
crown was in great danger, sought foreign alliances. Here we see, 
perhaps for the first time, real international alliances, Otto, the 
Count of Flanders, and King John of England uniting against 
Frederick, Philip Augustus, and the Pope. Two of the armies 
met at Bouvines in Flanders (12 14), resulting in the complete 



590 APPENDIX I 

victory of the French. On both sides the foot soldiers from the 
towns played an important part. It was a battle of nations rather 
than of individual monarchs. The results were far-reaching. 
The cause of Frederick was greatly strengthened, and Philip was 
more firmly established in France. On the other side, Otto was 
ruined and John lost his French possessions (History, § 87). 

81. Frederick's Last Years. 1220-1250. — The subsequent 
history of Frederick is full of romantic incident. He was crowned 
in Rome in 1220, but, like Otto, his personal interests were at 
variance with those of the Papacy, and like him he broke with the 
Pope and was excommunicated. He was continually striving to 
retain both his German and Italian possessions. Though ex- 
communicated by the Pope, he made a crusade and in 1229 
actually secured Jerusalem and other holy places by treaty with 
the Turks. He established a strong centralized government in 
Sicily, but in Germany, doubtless recognizing the condition of 
affairs, he made many concessions to the nobles, increasing the 
tendency to the formation of small states." He died in 1250, and 
with him the Medieval Empire really ceased, for none of the suc- 
ceeding bearers of the imperial title held sway outside of Germany. 1 

82. End of the Hohenstaufens (1254); "Fist Law." 1254- 
1273. — The dynasty of the Hohenstaufens, to which Frederick 
belonged, came to an end with Conrad IV (1254), and there fol- 
lowed a period which the Germans called Faustrecht or " Fist 
Law," during which there was no central power, and Germany was 
in confusion, each prince, baron, archbishop, and city claiming 
independence. This period is also commonly known as the In- 
terregnum (1 254-1 2 73). 2 

83. Rudolf of Hapsburg. 1273. — At length Pope Gregory X, 
finding that his revenues were decreasing, sent word to the elec- 

1 Frederick was " a warrior and a politician ; a profound lawgiver and an im- 
passioned poet "; a naturalist, a scientist, and an astrologer, charged with being an 
unbeliever and yet persecuting heretics. His third wife was Isabella, daughter of 
John of England. 

2 Richard of Cornwall, a brother of Henry III of England, was chosen by part 
of the electors (1256). He came to Germany and was crowned at Aachen (1257). 
He never exercised any authority ; neither did Alfonso of Castile, who, chosen by 
the other electors, never came to Germany at all. Richard died 1271. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 



591 



tors that if they did not choose an emperor, he would. On this 
the electors chose Rudolf of Hapsburg (1273). Though he was 
supposed to be a weak man, he managed to conquer Austria 
(1278) and establish his rule, and the Hapsburgs have sat on 
the Austrian throne ever since. Rudolf gained the support of the 
Pope by resigning any claims upon Sicily and Italy. 1 

At the time of Rudolf's accession there were, it is said, more 
than four hundred territorial divisions in Germany, each claiming 
sovereignty. 2 The policy of the succeeding emperors was to in- 
crease their personal power regardless of the general welfare. 
The consequence was that Germany remained divided for nearly 
five centuries. 3 

84. Italy ; Rise of Italian Republics. — Italy, freed from the 
real or attempted rule of the German emperors, was the scene of 
local quarrels, resulting in the rise of the so-called Italian republics, 
Genoa, Milan, Pisa, Florence, Venice, and others. The Papacy 
controlled the center of the peninsula, while Naples was under the 
House of Anjou, and Sicily under that of Aragon, a condition of affairs 
in essentials lasting till the latter part of the nineteenth century. 

85. Switzerland. 1291-1386. — One result of the reign of 
" Fist Law " was the rise of Switzerland. Among the towns which 
claimed independence of all rule except the overlordship of the 
emperor were Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden on Lake Lucerne. 
Rudolf of Hapsburg, before he was elected emperor, had vainly 
tried to bring them into subjection, but after his election matters 
of greater importance engrossed his attention. His successors, 
however, roused by the increasing power and influence of the 

1 The electors at this time were the Archbishops of Mainz, Treves, and Cologne, 
the Duke of Saxony, King of Bohemia, Margrave of Brandenburg, and the Elector 
Palatine of the Rhine. 

2 This great number was partly due to the Teutonic custom of dividing lands, 
among the sons instead of leaving all or nearly all to the eldest son as in England 
and France. It was also partly due to the policy of the Hohenstaufens, who, in 
order to further their plans in Sicily and Italy, gave great privileges to the German 
nobles, and did not attempt to centralize their power — an error from which Ger- 
many long suffered. 

3 It was not till the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 that the real unification of Ger- 
many began. This was immensely furthered by the Franco-Prussian War, 1870- 
1871. The temporary unification under Napoleon I can hardly be counted. 



59 2 



APPENDIX I 



Swiss cantons, made great efforts to subdue them. Aided by the 
character of their country and inspired by their love of independ- 
ence, the Swiss made a brave resistance, and at the battle of 
Morgarten (1315) defeated the Hapsburg Leopold of Austria. 
Already, in 1291, three cantons had made a league for mutual 
help and protection, and by 1353 five other cantons had joined 
them. The Swiss were again called upon to defend their liberties 
at Sempach (1386) and gained another great victory. This led to 
their independence and in time to modern Switzerland. 1 

These victories of the Swiss were a severe blow to the already 
declining chivalry and feudalism, for they proved again that 
trained foot soldiers were more than a match for the noble knights. 

86. Spain ; Portugal. — The Moors in Spain reached the height of 
their power in the eighth century. From that time the Christians 
gradually increased their territory, which they were able to do 
chiefly because of dissensions and divisions among the Moors. 

Portugal was established as an hereditary kingdom in 1139, 
while still earlier the kingdoms of Leon, Castile, and Aragon had 
come into existence. Under Ferdinand I (12 14-125 2), who in- 
herited Leon from his father and Castile from his mother, the 
Christian rule was extended all over Spain except the small king- 
dom of Grenada, which was to remain Moorish for nearly two and 
a half centuries (1492). 

87. Alfonso X of Castile. 125 2-1 284. — The greatest of all 
Spaniards of this period was Alfonso X of Castile (1252-1284), 
known as " Alfonso the Wise." He was the rival of Richard of 
Cornwall for the imperial crown, though he understood the situa- 
tion too well to take any active steps to secure the honor. One 
of the best educated men of his day, he was a patron of famous 
learning, and a lawgiver like his contemporaries Edward I of 
England, Louis IX of France, and Frederick II in Sicily. 

88. The People in Spain. — The people obtained recognition 
of their rights earlier in Spain than elsewhere. In Aragon the 

1 The five cantons were Luzern (1320) ; Zurich (1351) ; Glarusand Zug (1352) ; 
Bern (1353). The League was formed (1291) and Morgarten fought (1315) in the 
canton of Schwyz, and from that canton the republic takes its name. The confed- 
eration was not formally recognized until 1648. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 



593 



Cortes, a representative body, was established in 1133, and in 
Castile in 1166. Indeed feudalism never prevailed in the Spanish 
Peninsula as elsewhere in Europe. The Spanish aristocracy was 
military rather than territorial. This condition was a result of the 
constant wars against the Moors. The Cortes, composed as a rule 
of nobles, clergy, and representatives from the towns, had very 
considerable power over taxation, legislation, etc. There were also 
other safeguards over liberty, making Spain in the thirteenth cen- 
tury, next to England, the freest country in Europe. In the later 
years of the century, owing to factions and jealousies, a period of 
turbulence began, which was of long continuance. Not until 
Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, heirs of their respec- 
tive kingdoms, united those kingdoms by their marriage (1469) 
were peace and unification brought about. 

89. Ferdinand and Isabella. — The policy of both of these 
monarchs was absolute rule. They were able to take away the 
liberties of their subjects because there was no sympathy between 
the people and the nobles. Their patronage of Columbus and the 
expulsion of the Moors have cast a glamour over their history which 
hides the fact that to them more than to any others is due the 
destruction of the liberties of the Spanish people, and the ultimate 
fall of the Spanish Empire. Charles V and Philip II simply carried 
out the policy begun by Ferdinand and Isabella. 

90. Medieval France. — The close of the fourteenth century, 
which saw Germany with slight exceptions cut up into numerous 
petty states, found France a large, compact state, ruled by a 
strongly centralized government. The numerous fiefs of the 
eleventh century had been consolidated. The process, though 
slow and with many setbacks, had been aided by many things. As 
a rule the Capetian monarchs (descendants of Hugh Capet, the 
first king of France, 987-996) were able men; moreover, they 
had the singular good fortune for three hundred years always to 
have sons to succeed, and, with but few exceptions, able regents 
when the heir was under age. For two hundred years it was their 
custom to have the heir crowned during the lifetime of the reigning 
monarch. This action lessened the risk of a disputed succes- 
sion. Again, while the law of France recognized only male sue- 



594 



APPENDIX I 



cessors to the crown, female succession was common in the fiefs. 
This custom afforded many opportunities for acquiring possessions 
by marriage with an heiress. 1 

For no inconsiderable part of the period the royal domain was 
smaller than some of the fiefs, 2 but the kings were wary and always 
on the watch for opportunities to increase their power and domain. 

The rise of cities and the increase in number and importance 
of the commercial classes also aided the kings, for the abolition of 
petty feudal dues and private warfare, and the preservation of 
peace and order, all of which are essential to commercial success, 
were far more likely to be obtained under a strong king of a large 
territory. It must not be supposed that the monarchy was patri- 
otic or specially far-sighted in its policies — far from it. Probably 
most that was done was due to selfish motives, but it often hap- 
pened, as was not uufrequently the case in England, that the selfish 
interests of the kings and the cause of progress coincided. 

91. Philip Augustus, 1 180-1 223. — The actual change in France 
from a duchy to a kingdom was the work of Philip Augustus 
(1 180-1223), one of the most unscrupulous and able of French 
monarchs. As has been seen, Henry II of England had through 
inheritance and marriage (History, §§ 60,61) far greater domains 
in France than his liege lord, the king of France. It was Philip's 
chief object to secure these territories for his own. The history 
of England shows what incessant warfare Philip kept up against the 
English during his long reign ; how he stirred up Henry's sons 
against their father, now supporting one, now another. After 
Henry's death the conflict was continued on one pretext or another, 
until by the battle of Bou vines (12 14) the English received such a 
blow that at the death of Philip (1223) the possessions of the 
Angevins in northern France had been permanently joined to the 
French crown (History, § 87). Philip also, though taking no part 

1 This rule, however worked both ways. Thus Louis VII married Eleanor of 
Aquitaine, and through her acquired large possessions ; but by divorcing her he 
lost them, as she was childless. Her subsequent marriage the same year (1152) 
with Henry, soon to be Henry II of England, transferred them to the English crown 
(History, § 60), resulting in great loss and trouble to France. 

2 Thus the French possessions of Henry II of England were about six times 
larger than the domains of Louis VII, his feudal liege lord. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 



595 



in the crusade against the Albigenses ($ 77), managed so to profit 
by it that Toulouse ultimately came under French rule. 

92. Louis IX. 1 226-1 2 70. — The protracted reign of Louis IX 
(1 226-1 270), in spite of a long minority, was one which saw the 
monarchy steadily growing in power. He came to a successful 
agreement with the English (1258) ; made the royal coinage a 
legal tender throughout the kingdom, and greatly improved the 
administration of justice ; made the king a final court of appeal ; 
and in other ways increased the royal power. 1 

93. Philip IV, the Fair; Charles VII ; Louis XI. — Under 
Philip the Fair (1285-1314) France became the leading power in 
Europe. An able administrator, he carried on the work begun 
by Philip Augustus and Louis IX, developing the royal power in 
almost every direction. To Philip also is due the establishment 
of the States General (1302). There had been assemblies of 
the two estates of the nation, — the nobles and the higher clergy, 
— but to these Philip added representatives from the cities. 
The latter were called the Tiers Etat (Third Estate). The 
States General, however, must be carefully distinguished from 
bodies like the English Parliament. The body was called only 
when the king wished to gain approval of taxation or of some 
measure desired by him. The body could originate nothing, 
passed no laws, and so was not a true representative assembly. 2 

Philip opposed or supported the church according as he thought 
his interests would be served. His practical control of the Papacy 
(1305-1314), spoken of elsewhere (§ 95), indicates the strength 
of his position in France and in Europe at large. Philip's perse- 
cution and destruction of the Templars closely resembles the sup- 
pression by Henry VIII of the monasteries in England with, 
perhaps, even less to justify it. 3 

1 For his purity of life and character, he was canonized by Boniface VI 1 1 (1297), 
and is known as St. Louis. 

2 France had no real representative assembly in the modern sense until the 
nineteenth century. 

3 This military order, by its devotion to the Papacy, its close connection with the 
nobles from whose ranks its recruits chiefly came, and its wealth, was a continual 
menace to Philip's power and ambition. He charged the Templars with impiety 
and immorality. Many were arrested, some tortured to obtain evidence, some were 
condemned to death, and the property of the order was seized (1307). 



596 APPENDIX I 

The close of the Hundred Years' War found France under 
Charles VII. When he was hard pushed in order to secure his 
throne, Charles had made an agreement (1435) with Philip, Duke 
of Burgundy, his most powerful vassal, which practically made 
Philip an independent sovereign. Charles VII died in 146 1, leav- 
ing Louis XI his heir. Philip of Burgundy died in 1467 and was 
succeeded by his son Charles the Bold. Charles's ambition was to 
have his domain erected into a kingdom, while Louis wished to 
extend his own dominions. 

Charles was defeated by the Swiss and killed at Nancy (1477). 
His daughter and heiress, Mary of Burgundy, soon after his death, 
at the age of twenty, married Maximilian, son of the German 
Emperor Frederick III. Their son, Philip, married Juana, eldest 
daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, and she became the mother 
of Charles V. 1 Louis XI gained Burgundy for France, and later, 
by the death of Rene of Anjou, that country and Maine fell to the 
French crown. The close of the fifteenth century saw France 
with a centralized government and compact territory. 

The relations of England with France and Burgundy were close. 
As a rule the Lancastrians favored France, while the Yorkists favored 
Burgundy. Edward IV of England, though usually on the side of 
Burgundy, did not hesitate to treat with France if he thought it 
would be to his own advantage. 2 

94. Boniface VIII. 1 294-1 303. — The Papacy put forth its 
most extensive temporal claims under Boniface VIII (1 294-1303). 
The character of these claims is shown by two celebrated Bulls : (1) 
that known as Clericis Laicos (1296), forbidding all laymen, in- 
cluding rulers, to lay any taxes or levies on the clergy without papal 
consent, and prohibiting the clergy from paying any such taxes or 
levies; (2) the Bull Unam Sanctum (1302), in which the spiritual 
power is claimed to be superior to all temporal power. 3 

1 It was through this marriage that the Netherlands and some adjacent territory- 
came under the Austrian and Spanish rule. 

2 Margaret, sister of Edward IV, married Charles, Duke of Burgundy (1468), 
being his second wife ; Elizabeth Woodville, Edward's wife, was niece of Count of 
Pol, Charles's brother-in-law. 

3 " For the truth itself declares that the spiritual power must establish the tem- 
poral power and pass judgment on it if it is not good." Bull Unam Sanctum 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 



597 



Edward I of England had shrewdly evaded the Bull Clericis 
Laicos (History, § 134), and Philip IV, the Pair, of France did 
the same. The Bull Unam Sanctam was issued primarily against 
Philip. These claims inevitably provoked hostility from temporal 
monarchs, for to admit them would destroy the authority of the 
monarch over his own subjects. 

Boniface was preparing to excommunicate Philip, when he was 
captured by Philip's agents, at Anagni, Italy, and though rescued 
by his own adherents, did not long survive the outrage. His suc- 
cessor lived only a few months. 

95. The Popes at Avignon. 1309. — For nearly a year the 
cardinals were unable to choose a Pope, and then Philip's influence 
was strong enough to secure the election of a Pope who would be 
favorable to his interests. Accordingly the Archbishop of Bordeaux 
was elected (1305) as Clement V. The papal court was moved to 
France and came wholly under French influence. In 1309 Clement 
moved his residence to Avignon, just outside of France. This 
place continued to be the residence of the Popes for about seventy 
years, and as French influence was supreme, the period (1305-1377) 
has been called the "Babylonish Captivity." 1 The effect was 
visibly to lessen the power of the Papacy, to injure its prestige, 
and seriously to impair the respect in which it had been held. 

96. The Great Schism. 1378-1417. — Following this period 
came what is known as the " Great Schism." Gregory XI, who 
had moved to Rome (1377), died, and his successor, Urban VI 
(1378), attempted a reformation of the college of cardinals and 
clergy. The cardinals who had expected Urban to return to 
Avignon were angry, went out of Rome and elected (1378) a new 
Pope (Clement VII), who took up his residence at Avignon. Thus 
there were the two Popes, each claiming to be the true one. 2 Each 
rival Pope was recognized according to the inclinations of the vari- 
ous European monarchs, — Italy and England recognizing Urban; 
France and Scotland, Clement. As Urban had created newcardi- 

1 So called from the seventy years' captivity of the Jews in Babylonia. The date 
of beginning is by some given as 1305, by others 1309. 

2 Clement's supporters claimed that Urban had been forced on the cardinals by 
the Roman populace, and hence his choice was void. 



598 APPENDIX I 

rials, there were two colleges of cardinals. It followed that the 
Schism extended all over Christendom, as each Pope claimed the 
power to appoint prelates. This deplorable division lasted about 
forty years (1378-1417), and injured the church more than any- 
thing that had happened to it. At length the idea of a general- 
council, like those held in the early ages of the church, gained 
prominence. In 1409 a council called by members of both col- 
leges of cardinals met at Pisa. This council deposed both Popes 
and chose a new one, Alexander V (1409-1410). Neither of the 
deposed Popes would yield ; and so there were three Popes in- 
stead of two. John XXIII, a notoriously unfit man, was chosen 
as Alexander's successor (14 10). This state of affairs led to the 
calling of the Council of Constance (1414-1418), one of the most 
noted gatherings in history. 1 

97. Council of Constance. 1414-1418. — Owing to the great 
difficulties of the situation, the Council did not achieve as much as 
was hoped, or might have been expected. It did heal the Schism 
by deposing the three Popes 2 and choosing a new one, Martin V 
(T41 7-1425). Martin was a strong man and impatient of control. 
His chief object was to regain papal power and church authority, 
and he was remarkably successful. Had the Council, as it should 
have done, first taken active measures for reform, the whole course 
of European history might have been very different. 

Of the three great questions before the Council — healing of 
the Schism, reformation in the church, and the suppression of 
heresy — the last was by no means regarded as the least im- 
portant. Toleration, as has been seen, was something incompre- 
hensible to most persons in that age, and to hold opinions differ- 
ing from those commonly accepted was believed to be a menace 
to church and state alike. It is only this fact which can explain 
or palliate actions which seem to men of our day treacherous and 
cruel. 

1 There were present the Pisa Pope, and John XXIII; twenty-five cardinals, 
thirty-three archbishops and bishops, one hundred and fifty abbots, the German 
emperor, one hundred dukes and earls, and many of lesser rank. It was the last 
church council which was recognized by practically all Europe. 

2 John XXIII was deposed, Gregory XII submitted and was deposed, Benedict 
was deposed, but refused to obey and retired to Spain. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 



599 



98. John Hus (1373-1415). — The doctrines promulgated by 
Wycliffe and his followers had been carried to Bohemia by stu- 
dents and others, notably by Jerome of Prague, and though hardly 
the cause of the rise of a reform party, undoubtedly stimulated 
that movement. Among those influenced was John Hus, a man 
connected with the University at Prague. Hus claimed that no 
church official need be obeyed unless he were an exemplary man. 
He also upheld most of Wycliffe's teachings, though he did not go 
to the extreme of that reformer's views. So sure was Hus that he 
was right and could convince the Council, that he willingly appeared 
before it to defend his position, especially as the Emperor Sigis- 
mund had granted him a safe-conduct. 1 Hus, however, was 
arrested and imprisoned. When the Emperor Sigismund made a 
weak protest, he was told that the law did not recognize suspected 
heretics. Later, Sigismund basely deserted Hus. Hus was 
brought to trial, refused to retract, and was condemned as a here- 
tic. He was handed over to the civil authority, and was forth- 
with burned at the stake (July 6, 1415). Lest his ashes might 
become an object of veneration, they were thrown into the Rhine. 
Jerome of Prague, who had followed him to Constance, was like- 
wise apprehended and burned. 2 

The treatment of Hus and Jerome greatly excited the indig- 
nation of their followers. The result was the Hussite War in 
Bohemia (1419-1431), a struggle which for cruelty can only be 
compared with the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). Had Bo- 
hemia possessed a native ruler, and had the reformers been 
united, the end would probably have been different; as it was, 
the compromise party won, and a reconciliation was made with 
the church (1433). 

99. Reform. — In the matter of reform the Council accomplished 
nothing of importance. This was due not only to Martin V, but 
also to changed political conditions. " It was impossible to make 
arrangements for the whole of Christendom when the church in 

1 The " safe-conduct " was a document ordering that no one should do him any 
harm, and allowing him to leave Constance whenever he might wish. 

2 One of the acts of the Council (1414) was to pass a decree that Wycliffe's ashes 
should be disinterred and thrown into a stream (History, § 177). 



6oO APPENDIX I 

England, in France, and in Germany each had its own ideas as to 
what was best, and each wished to maintain its own rights and 
independence." The Council closed in 1418. 

100. Council of Basel (1431-1449); The Papacy. — Another 
Council at Basel (1431-1449), though much prolonged, was equally 
unsuccessful in settling affairs. From this time the papacy lost 
much political influence in Europe, but in spite of great short- 
comings, retained much of spiritual influence. The Popes gave 
their chief attention to the preservation and extension of their 
political power in Italy, and, for fifty years or more, were rather 
temporal than spiritual rulers. 

101. The " Renaissance Popes." — Some of the Popes, from 
their support of the new movement, are known as the " Renaissance 
Popes." Their courts were large and extravagant, they delighted 
in paintings, statuary, books, architecture, and all kinds of artistic 
work. To fulfil these expensive desires, and legitimate sources of 
expenditure also vast sums of money were required, and they were 
drawn from other parts of Europe by various means. A strong 
feeling existed in almost all countries against the large revenues 
demanded. There can be no question that at the close of the 
fifteenth century, from one cause or another, there was against 
the papacy a strong feeling of which the Protestant Reformation 
was a natural outcome. 

102. The Ottoman Turks ; Fall of the Eastern Empire. 1453. 
— The Seljuk Turks (§57) continued to hold a large part of west- 
ern Asia and Asia Minor, but about the middle of the fourteenth 
century the Ottoman ' Turks, advancing from central Asia, reduced 
the Seljuks to submission and continued to extend their dominion. 
They first crossed into Europe in 1353 and gradually secured 
nearly all the territory of the Balkan peninsula and of the Eastern 
Empire. These invaders menaced all Europe and many efforts 
were made to drive them back. A great army gathered to meet 
them met with a crushing defeat at Nicopolis on the Danube 
(1396), and had it not been that Bajazet, the Turkish leader, was 
attacked in Asia Minor by Tamerlane the Tartar, it might have 

1 So called from Othman or Osman (1288-1326). From the latter the Turks get 
their name Osmanlis. Othman was the first leader who was independent. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 6oi 

gone hard with Christian Europe. At Angora, in central Asia 
Minor, Bajazet was himself defeated and taken prisoner (1402). 
But this was only a temporary setback, for the Turks recovered 
their position and besieged Constantinople. The emperor vainly 
appealed for aid to western Europe. After a heroic defense of 
about two months, the city fell (1453), and for three days was 
given up to pillage. The great cathedral of St. Sophia was turned 
into a Mohammedan mosque, and ever since Constantinople has 
been in Turkish hands. 

103. Results of the Fall of the Eastern Empire. — Europe 
was shocked at the great catastrophe, which she might by united 
effort have prevented. Still some good resulted, for the Greek 
scholars escaping from Moslem rule took with them their learning, 
their language and literature, besides manuscripts of Greek authors, 
and thus gave a new impetus to the development of thought and 
culture already under way in the West. 1 

The conquest of Constantinople made the Turks less of a 
nomadic race, and gave them possessions in Europe which they 
held for nearly five hundred years, to the great detriment of 
southeastern Europe, besides being for a large part of that period 
a menace to Christian civilization and development. 

104. Turks in Europe. 1453-1481. — The Sultan Mohammed II 
(1451-1481), an able man and shrewd ruler, was the real founder 
of the Ottoman Empire. He gave his Christian subjects a district 
of Constantinople to dwell in, and allowed them to preserve their 
ecclesiastical organization under a Patriarch. Though he levied 
a special tax on Christians, from a purely material point of view 
they were not very much worse off than before the conquest. 
The greatest cause of suffering was the tribute, at least as often as 
every five years, of Christian boys who were seized by the Turks 
to be educated as Moslems and trained as Turkish soldiers. 2 

1 It has too often been said that the fall of Constantinople introduced Greek 
learning to the West, but this is very far from being the case; Greek learning was 
already in Europe. 

- These men were called Janizaries. They were not allowed to marry and in 
some ways resembled the military religious orders of the Christians. They usually 
became fanatical Moslems and were the mainstay of the Turkish military. In 
later times Turks joined the Janizaries. They were done away with in 1826. 



602 APPENDIX I 

Mohammed II continued his conquests until at his death (1481) 
the empire included all Asia Minor to the Euphrates, the Balkan 
Peninsula as far as the Danube, and also Greece and most of the 
islands of the ^gean Sea, and controlled the Black Sea. Under 
some of his successors the Turks advanced still farther into Europe. 
Not until late in the seventeenth century did the Ottoman power 
begin steadily though very slowly to decline. 



CHAPTER III 
HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE — 1500-1648 

105. Extent of Christendom. 1500. — The change from 
medieval thought and action to modern was gradual and was the 
result of many influences, some of the principal of which have 
already been mentioned. A brief review of Christendom at the 
close of the fifteenth century (1500) is instructive. In the first 
place the geographical extent was greatly less than it was at the 
close of the seventh century (700). Palestine, Syria, Egypt, 
northern Africa, the Balkan Peninsula, and Greece were all lost to 
Christendom. The Turks were still triumphant, and all Europe 
was in fear of a further advance. 

The political conditions showed a tendency toward consolida- 
tion ; England, France, and Spain, after a long period of unrest, 
domestic wars, and turbulence, had become strong nations, of which 
England was the freest. The growth of commerce, trade, manu- 
facturing, and wool raising in England testified to internal quiet, 
and the foreign alliances of Henry VII indicated the international 
position of the kingdom. 

106. France. — France had the most centralized government, 
and her monarch was almost absolute. But France was not a 
compact nation in the sense that England was. The English 
custom of treating the younger sons as commoners tended to do 
away with, or at least very much to modify, feelings of caste, and 
to promote the growth of an intelligent middle class — the most 
valuable asset of a nation. In France all the children of nobles 
were noble, and this created " a caste, numerous, poor in many 
instances, and too proud to belittle themselves by entering any of 
the professions or engaging in commerce." The exemption from 
taxation which they enjoyed in earlier times on account of personal 
feudal service was continued long after feudal service had come 
to an end. The result was that practically all taxation was borne 

603 



604 APPENDIX I 

by the middle and lower classes and had become a grievous bur- 
den. The church in France was more independent of Rome than 
elsewhere, and its administration was based on plans suggested by 
the Council of Basel (1438) which gave the king great power in 
influencing the appointment of church officials. 

107. Spain. — Spain had grown to be an almost absolute mon- 
archy under Ferdinand and Isabella. Here, also, the monarchs 
had great power in church affairs, and notwithstanding they were 
called their " Most Catholic Majesties," they held the church in 
Spain almost as much under their control as did the French mon- 
arch. The Inquisition, established (1478) at their request by 
Pope Sixtus IV, was perhaps used as often for strengthening the 
civil despotism as for rooting out heresy, the avowed reason for 
its establishment. 

108. Germany. — Notwithstanding the great number of states 
into which Germany was divided, 1 there was a popular desire 
for German unity. While this was recognized and various 
attempts were made to further it, they all ended in practical failure 
because the princes, on the one hand, were unwilling to give up 
any part of their independence ; and the emperor, on the other, 
would not accept any plan which would involve control of the 
emperor by the princes. 

The emperors were nominally elective, but since 1438 had been 
chosen from the house of Hapsburg, and, not unnaturally, regard- 
ing their family possessions as the most important, lost no oppor- 
tunity of securing and enlarging them. Over them they could and 
did rule — over the empire their power was only nominal. 

There was an Imperial Diet or assembly of three houses : one 
composed of the electors, except the king of Bohemia ; one of 
the princes, spiritual and lay ; and one of the imperial cities. But 
owing to the rivalry and dissensions between these three and 
between the Diet and the emperor little or no effective legislation 
was enacted, and what was enacted could not be enforced. 

1 As has been said, there were probably four hundred in all, and what added to 
the difficulties of the situation, the possessions, even of a petty prince, often were 
not contiguous, and the ruler was compelled to cross the domains of some other 
ruler in order to visit all his own. This opened the way for endless quarrels. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 605 

Neither was the Diet a true representative body, for neither the 
lesser nobility nor the people were represented (the few deputies 
from the cities hardly made an exception). The system of 
imperial justice was hopelessly ineffective. 

109. Italy. — Italy was almost as badly cut up into petty states 
as was Germany. The important states were Milan, Venice, and 
Florence in the north, States of the Church in the center, and 
Naples in the south. Sicily and the island of Sardinia were in the 
hands of the king of Aragon. The jealousy and rivalry of the five 
principal states were destructive of any unity, while the petty 
states only increased the evil. Moreover, these divisions and 
rivalries encouraged invasions from outside. 

110. The Papacy. — The " Captivity " of the Papacy at Avignon 
(1309-1377), and the Great Schism (1378-1417), had seriously 
weakened the power of the Popes over the States of the Church, 
and there was every prospect of loss of territory. Loss of territory 
meant loss of prestige, and, perhaps, coming under the dominion 
of one of the other Italian states. The result was a series of Popes 
(1471-1503) who sought constantly to regain their temporal 
power. 

Such was the political condition of Europe at the close of the 
fifteenth century. But important movements had been in progress, 
most of which have been already mentioned or referred to in the 
history of England and in previous sections. 

111. Inventions. — Two inventions introduced into Europe 
during the crusades, and one in the fifteenth century, had an 
enormous influence, and without them the Modern Age would have 
been delayed we know not how long. These were gunpowder, 
the mariner's compass, and the printing press. The origin and 
date of the first two are uncertain ; the printing press, or printing 
with movable types, is attributed both to Lourens Janszoon Coster 
of Haarlem, Holland, and Johann Guttenberg of Mainz, Germany, 
though to Guttenberg seems to belong the honor of making the in- 
vention a practical one. The so-called Mazarin Bible, printed by 
Guttenberg about 1456, remains one of the finest specimens of 
typography. The first of these inventions, gunpowder, rendered 
armor and fortified castles of little use, and made a knight, as a 



606 APPENDIX I 

fighter, no better than a common soldier, thus dealing a fatal blow 
at the essentials of feudalism ; the second, the mariner's compass, 
gave the explorer courage to strike out into the open sea on voyages 
of discovery ; and the third, printing, was the means of diffusing 
knowledge quickly and at slight expense, to which the earlier 
invention of paper made from rags, a substitute for the expensive 
parchment or vellum, greatly contributed. 1 

112. Discovery. — The fifteenth century was an age of discovery. 
The trade with the East, during and after the crusades, had been 
monopolized by Italian cities. The nations farther west, particu- 
larly Spain and Portugal, wished to have a share in this profitable 
business, 2 and sought for other routes. Moreover, the conquest of 
Constantinople by the Turks threatened all Eastern trade. 

The Portuguese were early in the search. This was due to the 
influence of a Portuguese, Prince Henry the Navigator (1394- 
1460). Though he does not seem to have undertaken any long 
voyage himself, he took an active interest in explorations, begin- 
ning when he was about thirty and continuing his efforts for thirty 
years. Before his death (1460) the Portuguese had reached Cape 
de Verde, and in i486, Bartholomew Diaz rounded the Cape of 
Good Hope, 3 and in 1498 Vasco da Gama not only rounded the 
Cape, but crossed the Indian Ocean to India. Before this Colum- 
bus, in the service of Spain, had discovered America (1492), and 
fired the souls of the sailors of all Europe to discover new lands, 
forever abolishing the fear of those dangers which had filled the 
minds of earlier mariners. The discovery of the all-sea route 
to India not only made the Portuguese rich, but in time gave 
them possessions in the far East. Moreover, the trade of the 
Italian cities was most seriously injured, and they lost the suprem- 
acy they formerly possessed. The subsequent expeditions of 
Cortez in Mexico (15 19) and Pizarro in Peru (1524) and others 
brought vast wealth to Spain. The circumnavigation of the globe 

1 It is said that forty-five copyists working for nearly two years produced only 
about two hundred volumes of manuscripts for Cosmo de' Medici. 

2 The articles chiefly desired were spices, which were much more used than 
now, silks, ivory, gold, pearls, camphor, dyewoods, etc. 

3 Diaz named it the Cape of Storms and Torments, but the king changed the 
name to that by which it has ever since been called. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 6oj 

by Magellan's ship (1519-1522) proved the rotundity of the earth 
without question. The result of these voyages of discovery was 
to broaden the minds of men, and to make them far more ready to 
receive and adopt new views in every field of human endeavor. 1 

113. Intellectual Activity. — The fifteenth century was an age 
of great widening of all kinds of intellectual activity. This, be- 
ginning in Italy, extended through Europe. The Italian Petrarch 
(1304-1374) was the great pioneer whose efforts led to the revival 
of the study of the Greek and Roman classics, and to a revolution 
in the methods of education. The old system with its emphasis 
upon dialectic and logic was overturned, and the stress was laid 
upon the literary side of education and that which pertained to 
real life. The men who advocated this system have been called 
" Humanists." The invention of the printing press allowed their 
views and works to become widespread, while the clearness and 
freshness of their teaching had greater and greater influence. 
The study of Greek and Roman sculpture and architecture and 
the influence of humanism led to that revival in painting and 
sculpture the like of which has never been seen since. 

The geographical discoveries, the humanistic influence, the rise 
of a wealthy and independent burgher class, had their effect upon 
the students of the realm of nature, which was studied in what is 
now called a scientific spirit — that is, nature herself was investi- 
gated, and observations made the basis of reasoning. Thus, not 
only was the earth discovered to be round, but Copernicus (1473- 
1543) demonstrated that the sun, not the earth, as had been held, 
is the center of our system of planets. 2 

114. Religious Unrest. — It was inevitable that along with the 
changes and revolution in other fields that the realm of religious 
thought and practice should be included. Among the first fruits 
in this field was Erasmus's edition of the Greek New Testament 
(15 16), with a new Latin translation, thus bringing the book 
freshly before the men in its original tongue, and with a fresh 

1 England, as has been seen (History, $ 224), sent out John Cabot (1497) but 
did nothing more for a century. France did nothing till 1589. 

2 He did not dare to publish this till near his death. His discovery had no in- 
fluence on his own age, but is notable as an example of the intellectual workings 
of the times. 



608 APPENDIX I 

translation into the literary language of the day. 1 This work passed 
through several editions and was widely read, exercising a great 
influence in stimulating men to examine the claims of the church. 

But there was already existing a strong hostility to the church 
which had long been growing in strength. Among the causes of 
this was the heavy ecclesiastical taxation of various kinds. Very 
many persons believed that the funds so raised were used for the 
personal advancement and pleasure of officials at Rome rather than 
for the benefit of the church ; another was the manners and prac- 
tices of many of the monks and clergy. The need of reform was 
urgent ; the only question was should it be from within or without, 
by reformation or revolution. Still another cause was that which 
has come down from earlier times — the clashing, especially in the 
matter of revenue, between the temporal and the ecclesiastical 
powers. To this the rise of strong national feeling contributed, 
while the growth of personal independence so manifest in the 
towns and commercial centers added force. Indeed it may be 
doubted whether the political, social, and economic reasons did not 
contribute more toward a revolution than the strictly religious. 2 

115. The Protestant Revolution and Reformation. — The 
social, political, and religious unrest and some of the causes which 
might bring on a revolution have been mentioned. It was natural 
that the beginnings of revolt against existing conditions should 
come in Germany, for in that country society was less organized, 
there was no strong central government, political power was more 
widely distributed, and the population, as a whole, was worse off 
than elsewhere. The first signs were the risings of the downtrod- 
den peasants in the lands bordering upon Switzerland, the freedom 
of whose inhabitants was a spur to action. These risings were 
put down with suffering and bloodshed. 

1 Hitherto the only accessible edition was that of the Vulgate —an early Latin 
translation. 

2 When it is remembered that marriage was celebrated exclusively by the church, 
that clerics took charge of the dying, that they alone gave Christian burial, that wills 
had to be proved in church courts, that clerics took charge of the goods of the dead 
and distributed them, that they regulated many other matters of personal interest, 
and that they tried alleged heretics and fixed their punishment, some idea of the 
power of the church may be gained. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 609 

116. Indulgences. — The next movement, though connected 
with the church, was closely associated with economic conditions. 
The Roman court was in serious need of funds and large sums of 
money for its benefit were collected in all countries. Leo X, 
when chosen to the Papal chair, finding the treasury almost empty, 
determined to raise funds by disposing of indulgences upon a 
large scale. 1 

117. Tetzel's Mission (15 17); Martin Luther; the Ninety-five 
Theses. 151 7. — -The chief agent appointed by Leo for disposing of 
indulgences in Germany was a Dominican monk, John Tetzel, an 
able man, and an eloquent speaker, but devoid of tact. Many 
people, and especially the rulers, purely on economic grounds, were 
opposed to this method of raising funds, because it took so much 
money out of their dominions, making it increasingly difficult to 
collect the needful civil taxes. Others continuing the earlier 
objections to the use of indulgences, notably that of the Council 
of Constance, protested on religious grounds. Among these was 
the monk Martin Luther (1483-1546), a professor in the University 
of Wittenberg. When Tetzel came to the neighborhood of Witten- 
berg, Luther, on All Saints' Day (November 1), 151 7, after the 
fashion in those days, tacked upon the Church door ninety-five 
theses or propositions attacking the whole system of indulgences, 
and offering to defend these propositions against all comers. 
Luther's theses were written in Latin, but were immediately trans- 
lated into German, printed, and scattered over all Germany, 
creating such an impression that the disposing of indulgences in 
that country almost ceased. 

118. Frederick the Wise and Luther. — Luther's action would 
not have meant so much had he not been supported by his ruler, 
the Elector of Saxony, known as Frederick the Wise, who had al- 
ready forbidden Tetzel to come into his territory. Luther, more- 
over, was the most celebrated professor at Wittenberg and its great- 
est ornament. Frederick was the most respected ruler in Germany ; 
he was one of the seven electors, and his influence was great. 

119. The Pope and Luther. — The authorities at Rome did not 
for some time appreciate the gravity of the situation. Even 

1 These were in part to help in erecting the present church of St. Peter's at Rome. 



6lO APPENDIX I 

Luther himself did not for some time perceive where his course 
was leading him. Luther held a public disputation (June, 15 19) 
with John Eck, the ablest German defender of the papacy, the 
chief result of which was to strengthen Luther in the position he 
had taken, and to show him that he was no longer in harmony 
with the church. He soon published two stirring tracts on the 
religious and social conditions in Germany. In 1520 the Pope, 
finding all efforts useless, issued a bull condemning Luther's theses 
and books, and excommunicating him if he did not recant in sixty 
days. This bull Luther publicly burnt outside the walls of 
Wittenberg, December 10, 1520. This was open defiance. On 
January 3, 15 21, another bull excommunicated him. 

120. Election of an Emperor; Charles V. 15 19. — Meantime 
the Emperor Maximilian had died (15 19). The three candidates 
for the imperial crown were Charles of Spain, grandson of Maxi- 
milian, and also grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain ; 
Francis I of France ; and Henry VIII of England. The last two 
had small chance, but though Charles was a Hapsburg, the electors 
had serious objections to him on account of his great dominions, 
and offered the crown to Frederick of Saxony, who declined the 
honor. This action practically elected Charles, who was chosen. 
He " united dominions vaster than any Europe had seen since the 
days of his great namesake (Charlemagne). Spain and Naples, 
Flanders, and other parts of the Burgundian lands, as well as large 
regions in eastern Germany, obeyed Charles ; he drew vast rev- 
enues from a new empire beyond the Atlantic ; " he thus became 
the greatest monarch in Europe. 

121. Diet of Worms. 15 21. — The first Diet of Charles V met 
at Worms, Germany, in January, 15 21. Pope Leo appealed to 
the emperor, asking him to send Luther to Rome for trial, but 
Charles was persuaded to let Luther be heard in Germany, and 
summoned him to Worms, promising him a safe-conduct. Luther 
came, but refused to recant unless what he had said and done was 
shown to be contrary to Scripture. He was permitted to depart, 
but for the rest of his life he was under the ban of the empire, 
that is, legally, he was an outlaw. To insure Luther's safety he 
was seized on his return journey by his friends and taken to the 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 6 1 I 

Castle of Wartburg, where he remained about a year, occupying 
his time in translating the Bible from the original languages into 
German. 1 The people paid little attention to the edict, and Luther 
gained in popularity rather than lost. 

122. Peasants' Rising. 1 5 24-1 5 25 . — While Luther was in the 
Wartburg the radical and wilder spirits came to the front and in 
time brought about the Peasants' Rising (1524-1525). The lot of 
the German peasants was a hard one ; they were practically serfs. 
It is little to be wondered at that, hopeless of betterment and in- 
cited by wild leaders, they should rise in rebellion against all au- 
thority, secular or clerical. Terrible deeds of violence were 
committed, and not until about one hundred thousand lives had 
been sacrificed was the rebellion put down. 2 

123. Francis I and Charles V ; Hemy VIII. — The whole course 
of events during the following years was influenced by the personal 
ambition of the great rulers. Francis I of France had conquered 
Milan, which gave him an important point of advantage for any 
designs he had upon Italy, where he claimed Naples. Charles 
claimed that Milan belonged to the empire and resolved to expel 
Francis. War began between the two, and the imperial troops 
entered Milan (November, 1521). Pope Leo X suddenly died ; 
and instead of Wolsey, as he himself and Henry VIII hoped, 
the emperor's old tutor was chosen Pope as Adrian VI 3 (1522). 
Adrian was a man of irreproachable character,and desirous of putting 
an end to abuses, but he was not able to cope with the great diffi- 
culties surrounding him. Perhaps for him it was just as well that 
he lived only a few months. Again Henry and Wolsey were disap- 

1 This is universally acknowledged as one of the best translations. It is in racy, 
simple, forcible words, and has been the foundation of modern German. Before 
its appearance the German language was made up of many dialects. 

2 It might have been expected that Luther, himself a peasant's son, would have 
actively sympathized with the peasants, but he did not. He clearly saw the hope- 
lessness of the struggle, and the danger of mixing up the religious question with tin- 
extreme demands of the peasants. He recommended arbitration, which was re- 
fused, and, later, urged severe measures against the peasants. There can be little 
doubt that his judgment was good, but one must regret the severity of his lan- 
guage, and wish that he had shown more sympathy with the downtrodden. The 
real authors of the troubles were those who had oppressed the peasants. 

;; He kept his own name, which was unusual. 



612 APPENDIX I 

pointed, for Giulio de' Medici was chosen, taking the name of 
Clement VII. Francis I was defeated at Pavia (1525), and taken 
prisoner and sent to Madrid. In 1526 Francis concluded a treaty 
with Charles and was released. The Pope, who had made friends 
with Francis, absolved him from his obligations, and an alliance 
between Francis and the Pope followed. 

124. Diet of Spires (1526); Charles V Crowned. 1530. — 
Meanwhile the Diet of Spires was sitting. Charles was too busy to 
take active measures against the supporters of Luther, neither did 
he care to help the Pope, who had allied himself with Francis, so the 
Diet unanimously passed a decree (1526) that " Each prince should, 
as regards the Edict of Worms, so live, rule, and bear himself as 
he thought he could answer it to God and the emperor." This 
left each ruler to do as he thought best, and was really the begin- 
ning of states independent so far as religion was concerned, and 
marks the division of Germany into Catholic and Protestant. 
Peace was made between Francis and Charles in 1529, and in 
1530 Charles was crowned emperor by the Pope, at Bologna, the 
last emperor so crowned. 

125. Second Diet of Spires (1529). "Protestants." Augsburg 
Confession. 1530. — Meantime the Diet of the Empire met again 
at Spires in 1529, and passed a decree practically reenacting the 
Edict of Worms, and forbidding all further reform until a regular 
council was summoned. Against this the Lutheran princes and 
delegates made a protest, and were therefore called " Protestants." 

The next year (1530) the Diet met at Augsburg, and Charles 
himself, after nearly ten years' absence from Germany, was present. 
To this Diet the Lutherans presented a statement of their belief, 
drawn up by Melanchthon, known as the Augsburg Confession. 
It was studiously moderate in tone and statement, but Charles was 
unwilling to agree to anything except absolute submission. In 
order to protect themselves the Protestants formed the " League of 
Schmalkalden." x This was the actual beginning of the division 
of Germany into two hostile camps. The result of the action of 
Charles was ultimately the Thirty Years' War (1 618-1648). 

1 So named from a small town in southern Saxony where the leaders met for 
consultation. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 6 I 3 

126. State of Germany. 1530. — There were three courses 
other than force open to Charles, (1) compromise, (2) letting the 
Protestants alone, (3) holding a general Council like that of Con- 
stance. He inclined to the last, but the Pope, for some reason or 
other, put off action. Compromise was attempted, but was found 
to be impossible. The Schmalkalden League was too strong to 
oppose at present, so matters were left and Protestantism made 
rapid growth. Meantime an attack on Europe by the Turks di- 
verted Charles's attention. Luther's great influence was thrown 
against any appeal to arms, for he had a horror of war and a high 
regard for civil order. Luther died in 1546. 

127. Charles makes War on Protestants (1546) ; Peace of Augs- 
burg. 1555. — ■ Charles brought in Spanish troops and proceeded 
to break up the Schmalkalden League by force. This action and 
others roused the Germans, and the war continued until 1552. 
In 1555 the Peace of Augsburg was concluded. The treaty con- 
tained the famous words, cujus regio, ejus religio} This meant 
that a prince might choose his religion and that all his subjects 
must profess the same on pain of banishment. This was neither 
religious liberty nor toleration, but it did recognize Lutheranism 
as a legal religion in the empire, an important victory for the 
Protestants as far as it went, for after this to excommunicate a 
man for being a Lutheran would be to attack the empire. 2 It 
was faulty in that it was made wholly in the interests of the rulers ; 
the people were left out of consideration. Neither was any pro- 
vision made for any future change in conditions. Other matters 
were disposed of ambiguously, opening the way for future trouble. 

128. Abdication of Charles V (1555) ; Philip II. — Disappointed 
at the failure of his plans, broken in health, perhaps for other 
reasons also, Charles V abdicated in 1555, and retired to a mon- 
astery in Spain. He did not, however, become a monk or sever 
himself wholly from the world. He divided his vast dominions 
between his son, Philip II of Spain, and his brother Ferdinand. 
To the latter he gave the German possessions of the Hapsburgs ; 
to his son he gave Spain, its American colonies, Milan, the king- 

1 Literally, " whose the region, his the religion." 

2 It did not recognize the Swiss Reformers (Zwinglians), or the Calvinists. 



6 14 APPENDIX I 

dom of the Two Sicilies, and the Netherlands. Charles died in 

1558. 

129. Protestantism in France; " St. Bartholomew." 1572. — 
Meantime France, under Francis I, was at first tolerant to the 
new religious ideas, which spread rapidly — the French Protes- 
tants being called Huguenots. 1 But it was the theology of John 
Calvin of Geneva which attracted the French. For political rea- 
sons Francis allied himself with the Pope, and part of the agreement 
was the suppression of heresy. Then came the persecution of 
the Waldenses and others. His successor, Henry II, continued 
the persecutions, but notwithstanding this the adherents of the 
new faith increased, particularly in the south. Francis II (1559- 
1560), the weak son of Henry II, and husband of Mary Stuart, 
Queen of Scots, died within a year of his accession. He was suc- 
ceeded by his brother Charles IX, a boy of ten years, whose 
mother, Catherine de' Medici, was the real ruler. Her policy was 
to set one party against the other, and therefore she tolerated the 
Huguenots. The Catholic party, led by the family of the Guises, 
resented this, and before long civil war broke out. In this Philip II 
aided the Guises, and Elizabeth of England the Huguenots. For 
over thirty years there was almost continual war carried on quite 
as much from political rivalry as from religious conviction. Dur- 
ing this period occurred at Paris the " massacre of Huguenots, on 
St. Bartholomew's Day" (August 24, 1572). In other places simi- 
lar scenes were enacted. Charles IX was succeeded by his brother 
Henry III (15 74-1589), whose reign was a period of turmoil and 
political intrigues. 

130. Henry of Navarre. 1 589-1610. — At the death of Henry III 
by assassination, the crown fell to Henry Bourbon, King of Navarre, 
a Huguenot. The great majority of the French people were Catho- 
lic, and that they should be ruled by a Protestant king was cer- 
tainly in that day an anomaly, and scarcely to be endured. After 
four years of conflict Henry, primarily for political motives, abjured 
Protestantism and became a Catholic. 

131. Edict of Nantes (1598) ; Work of Henry IV. — It was not 
to be expected that Henry would ill-treat his former friends, the 

1 The oricrin of the name is uncertain. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 6 I 5 

Huguenots. Nor did he, for by the celebrated Edict of Nantes 
(April 13, 1598) the Huguenots were given absolute freedom of 
conscience with a somewhat qualified freedom of worship, and all 
public positions were opened to them the same as to Catholics. 
This was the first formal national act of religious toleration since 
the days of Constantine. 1 

Henry, with the aid of his great minister, Sully, strove to benefit 
his people ; and under his beneficent rule France began to prosper 
as she had not done for many years. Unfortunately for his coun- 
try, Henry was assassinated by a fanatic (16 10). 

132. Louis XIII (1610-1643); Richelieu. — Henry was suc- 
ceeded by his son, Louis XIII, a boy of nine years (1610-1643). 
For seven years France was misgoverned by his mother, Maria de' 
Medici. Then Louis himself assumed the power (161 7), and in 
1624 made Cardinal Richelieu his prime minister. Richelieu was 
an extraordinarily able man, and for about eighteen years was not 
only the real ruler of France, but exercised a vast influence over 
all Europe. His objects were to make the crown absolute, and to 
raise France to the position of the first power in Europe. In both 
of these he was ultimately successful. The first step was to de- 
stroy the political power of the Huguenots. These latter, since 
the death of Henry IV, were doubtless a disturbing element. 
Richelieu watched his opportunity and besieged La Rochelle. 
Charles I of England sent a fleet to assist the Huguenots (His- 
tory, § 363), but it was unsuccessful, and in 1628 the city sur- 
rendered. Richelieu confirmed the civil and religious privileges 
given the Huguenots under the Edict of Nantes, but withdrew all 
the special political ones. He also by various means put down 
the restless and independent nobility, and in every way strength- 
ened the royal power, so that France became the most centralized 
government in Europe. 

133. Richelieu's Foreign Policy. — The settlement of domestic 
affairs left him at liberty to pursue his other object, that of making 

1 In Paris and some other places Protestant worship was forbidden. Henry, 
perhaps from necessity, gave the Huguenots certain fortified towns, among them 
La Rochelle and Ntmes. This introduced a political element, which later caused 
Richelieu to attack the Huguenots on political grounds. 



6l6 APPENDIX I 

France the chief power in Europe. His great rival was Spain. 
To attack the Hapsburgs was to weaken Spain, and so he sup- 
ported the German Protestants, both with money and troops. The 
result was, though Richelieu did not live 1 to see the completion 
of his plans, that France not only attained the first place in Europe 
but gained as well territory (Alsace) which she held for more than 
two hundred years (1871). 

134. The Netherlands. — The Netherlands, comprising nearly 
what is now Belgium and Holland, passed with Mary of Burgundy 
to the Hapsburgs on her marriage with Maximilian (§ 93), 
and was inherited by Charles of Spain (the Emperor Charles V). 
The seventeen provinces were inhabited by peoples of different 
race and language, and were simply a collection of small states. 
In the southern portions the government was oligarchical, in the 
northern more nearly democratic. Each province had its own 
government and its own social and political institutions. That 
these provinces were grouped together was due to the fact that 
the Dukes of Burgundy had gained them singly. Efforts had been 
made from time to time to establish a definite union, a policy 
which Charles V steadily followed. 

135. Protestantism in the Netherlands. — Where there was so 
much independence, as was the case in the northern provinces, it 
was natural that Protestantism should have made great headway. 
Charles, from political rather than religious motives, tried to crush 
out heresy. When Charles abdicated (1555), he gave the Nether- 
lands to his son, Philip II. 

Philip resolved to reduce the turbulent provinces to obedience 
and to extirpate heresy. To carry out this plan he sent (1567) as 
his agent the Duke of Alva, an able general and " remorseless " 
man, investing him with supreme control in both political and re- 
ligious affairs. The very reputation of Alva was enough to send 
thousands to England, where their looms manufactured such cloth 
as had given Flemish weavers a European reputation. 

Alva's rule justified his reputation. He himself boasted later 
that he had put more than eighteen thousand to death. Probably 
the annals of no other country can reveal greater or more refined 

1 Richelieu died 1642. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 617 

cruelty. His action was based on political quite as much as on re- 
ligious grounds, but it is for his cruelty and vindictiveness in 
religious persecution that he is chiefly remembered. 

The people endured Philip's rule for ten years. Catholics as well 
as Protestants had protested against the Spanish exactions, but in 
vain, Alva was the answer. Already a league had been formed to 
make resistance. It needed but little more to make a revolt. 
Alva's plan was to put the leaders out of the way, and so he con- 
stituted, by his own authority, a special tribunal to try suspicious 
cases. This soon came to be known as the " Council of Blood." 

136. William of Orange. — William of Orange, Count of Nas- 
sau, had been a faithful servant of Charles V, but the oppressive 
Spanish rule drove him to the other side. He became a Protes- 
tant and the leader of the revolt. Known as William the Silent, 
he holds a high place in history as one who, against almost hope- 
less odds, undertook to deliver his people from tyranny. Natu- 
rally, his strongest support was found in the northern provinces, 
whose inhabitants were mostly Protestant. (lathering a small 
army, he began the struggle in 1568. 

137. Alva ; Elizabeth ; Dutch Republic. 1572. — Alva determined 
to support the war by taxes levied in the country itself. This 
almost destroyed trade and manufacturing, and drove the Catho- 
lics of the south to join with the Protestants of the north. About 
1569, William gave letters of marque to some corsairs, part Dutch 
and part English, who roved the North Sea. As the Spanish access 
to the Netherlands was by sea, these rovers, or " Sea Beggars," as 
they were called, inflicted lasting injury on Spanish commerce. 
Elizabeth of England, so long as there was reason to fear Spain, 
allowed these freebooters to take shelter and sell their spoils in 
England ; but as Spain became more closely occupied with the 
revolt, and France more engrossed with her religious wars, she 
had little to fear from either, and not wishing to get into war, de- 
clined to continue the privileges. Upon this the leader of the 
freebooters seized Brille, a seaport of the Netherlands, in the name 
of William the Stadtholder. This is regarded as the real begin- 
ning of the Dutch Republic, April 1, 1572. 

At last, after six years of tyranny, Alva was recalled. Moderate 



618 APPENDIX I 

men were sent, who were able to detach the southern provinces 
from the northern. 1 But the northern held out, and in 1579 seven 
provinces formed the Union of Utrecht, and two years later (1581) 
declared themselves independent. In 1584, while in his own 
house at Delft, William was assassinated by a fanatic. 

138. Elizabeth's Policy ; Spanish Armada (1588) ; Dutch Inde- 
pendence. 1609. — Elizabeth, in her relations with the Dutch, fol- 
lowed her usual policy of playing fast and loose as suited her plans. 
At last she decided to assist them, and sent her favorite, the Earl 
of Leicester, with troops to Holland (1585). The states needing 
a governor-general had already offered the position to Elizabeth, 
but she had declined ; now they offered it to Leicester, who ac- 
cepted it without consulting Elizabeth. Angry that he should have 
taken this step without her approval, she refused for some time to 
recognize the appointment. Leicester was unfitted for the posi- 
tion, and Elizabeth finally recalled him (1587). Incapable as 
Leicester was, his failure was in no small degree due to the vacil- 
lating and underhand measures of Elizabeth herself, who used the 
Netherlands to further her own ends. 2 

Philip, weary of the course of Elizabeth, believed that if he 
could conquer her, most of his difficulties would be solved, and so 
set about the preparation of the Armada, of which an account is 
given elsewhere (History, §§ 322-324). The disaster which be- 
fell the expedition decisively influenced the course of events in the 
Netherlands, for Philip was so much weakened that it was impos- 
sible for him to carry on the contest with vigor. In 1609, a 
twelve years' truce was agreed upon between Spain and the 
United Provinces, by the terms of which the independence of the 
latter was acknowledged and freedom of trade granted. In 1648, 
by the Treaty of Westphalia, their independence was confirmed. 

139. Reformation within the Church. — The need of reform in 
the church was obvious to all thinking men in the fifteenth and 
sixteenth centuries, but it was not till about the middle of the 

1 It should be remembered that the southern provinces were different from the 
northern in race, language, and religion. It was Alva's tyranny which had united 
them. 

- It was during this campaign that Sir Philip Sidney, the flower of the English 
nation, lost his life near Zutphen. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 619 

sixteenth century that active steps were taken to better conditions. 
That which came to pass, often called, though not accurately, the 
" Counter Reformation," was due to several causes. Three of 
the most important are : (1) the formation of the Society of 
Jesus, whose members are known as Jesuits ; (2) the Council 
of Trent; (3) the Inquisition. 

140. Loyola; Society of Jesus. — (1) The founder of the So- 
ciety of Jesus was Ignatius Loyola (born 1491), a Spanish noble- 
man. He was a soldier who, through a severe wound, had been 
rendered incapable of military service. Deeply impressed by read- 
ing certain " Lives of the Saints," he resolved to establish a religious 
army to fight the enemies of religion and to enter upon missionary 
service to convert the heathen. 

He prepared himself carefully for his work, and in 1534 founded 
his society. The Pope, Paul III, at first held aloof, but afterward 
gave the enterprise his approval. The society was organized like 
a military army, absolute obedience to the superior being required 
from the members. The head was a general. All the members 
were required to take a vow of obedience to the Pope. The order 
soon became a great power. Not only were its members mis- 
sionaries and preachers, but they established some of the best 
schools in Europe. They became able diplomats, and shrewd in 
political craft ; they were skillful propagandists, and, through their 
efforts, many prominent men were brought back to Catholicism, 
and lukewarm advocates made strong supporters of it. So suc- 
cessful were they that nearly all southern Germany, and France, 
and all Italy, Spain, and Poland became definitely Catholic, and 
not a few in northern Germany gave in their adherence to the 
old church. The faithfulness and zeal of the Jesuit missionaries 
in America, Asia, and elsewhere is worthy of admiration. 

141. Council of Trent. 1545-1563. — (2) The Popes had hesi- 
tated, as has been seen, to call a general council of the church, 
possibly fearing that their power might in some way be curtailed. 
But at last Pope Paul III gave way to the wishes of the emperor, 
and after two or three delays a council met December 13, 1545, 
at Trent, in Italy, but near the bounds of Germany. The council 
was under Italian and papal control from the beginning. 



620 APPENDIX I 

There was much discussion and debating; in 1547 the council 
was removed to Bologna, and was suspended in 1549. It was 
summoned again to Trent in 155 1, but was suspended the next 
year. It was not called together again until 1562, and closed 
finally in 1563. No Protestants shared in its deliberations, and 
so it was not representative of the whole Christian church in 
Europe, as the emperor had hoped would be the case. 1 

The results of the council were far reaching : Catholic doctrine 
was, for the first time, carefully formulated in statements which 
had to be accepted by church members. The authority of the 
Pope was greatly strengthened, the value of tradition emphasized, 
and tradition itself placed on an equality with Scripture. A genu- 
ine reform in the life and work of the clergy was instituted ; and 
the Pope was authorized to draw up a list of books to be pro- 
hibited on account of their heretical teachings. 2 Much other im- 
portant action was taken, and the Church of Rome to-day is in 
many respects largely what the Council of Trent made it. 

142. Inquisition. — (3) Among other things, the Council of 
Trent extended the Inquisition to other countries than Spain, and 
it became a great instrument in discovering and uprooting heresy. 
In Spain and parts of Italy it was successful, but it failed in the 
Netherlands. 

143. State of Germany. 16 18. — Perhaps no period in history 
is more difficult to describe with clearness than that known as the 
Thirty Years' War. In it religious and political motives, national 
rivalry, personal selfishness and personal ambition, and greed for 
plunder are so mingled that it is impossible to separate them. 
The one man who stands out worthy of commendation — the only 
real hero — is Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. 

Germany in 16 18 consisted of about four hundred states united 
in a very loose confederation, and the Holy Roman Empire — 
whose head was elected for life. In addition to the natural fric- 
tion resulting from the political situation, there was the friction 

1 From this time the title Roman Catholic Church has been frequently used to 
designate the Church of Rome. No other council was held until the Vatican 
Council in 1869-1870. 

- This is known as the Index E x pur gator 1 us. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 62 I 

arising from differences of religion, not only between Catholic and 
Protestant, but also between Protestant sects. The religious peace 
of Augsburg (1555) had been both a postponement of trouble and 
a cause of irritation. The Protestants were most numerous in the 
north, the Catholics in the south. 

144. Bohemia ; Beginning of the War. 16 iS. — After 1438 the 
head of the empire had always been a member of the house of 
Hapsburg, who ruled Austria. He also ruled Hungary, and at 
this time was king of Bohemia as well. The Emperor Matthias 
(1612-1617) was childless, and wished a cousin, Ferdinand of 
Styria, to succeed him. In the negotiations relating to this plan 
Bohemia and Hungary, both elective monarchies, were promised 
to Ferdinand, who was a strong Catholic. The Bohemian nobles, 
who were Protestants, fearful of injury to the Protestant cause and 
themselves, after appealing in vain to Matthias, sent an armed 
deputation to Prague. Charging the two unpopular regents with 
being the cause of the emperor's position, they threw them out 
of the window of the castle. 1 This act (May 23, 16 18) is usually 
taken as the beginning of the Thirty Years' War. The revolution 
was ill-advised. The Bohemian nobles were not united, the peo- 
ple had no wish to bear the cost of war, and the effort would have 
amounted to little had not Christian of Anhalt, an able man, but 
destitute of foresight and political judgment, determined to aid 
the Bohemian rebels. He was joined by Frederick V, 2 Elector 
Palatine, the young son-in-law of James I of England. There are 
four distinct periods of the war : (1) the Bohemian ; (2) the 
Danish; (3) the Swedish ; (4) the French. 

145. (1) Frederick, King of Bohemia. 161 9. — The Emperor 
Matthias died in 1691, and pending the election of his successor, 
the Bohemian nobles, claiming the right of election, chose Fred- 
erick, the Elector Palatine, as king of Bohemia. 3 Frederick 

1 Though the fall was about seventy feet into the fosse, or ditch, the men were 
not seriously injured. 

- Frederick had married (1613) when only seventeen the Princess Elizabeth 
of England. The capital of the Palatinate was Heidelberg; its castle, now one of 
the most beautiful ruins in Europe, was the electoral residence. Elizabeth was 
the mother of Prince Rupert of Civil War fame, and George I of England was her 
grandson. 3 Frederick was only twenty-three. 



62 2 APPENDIX I 

most unwisely accepted before ascertaining whether the Protestant 
powers — England, Netherlands, and the Protestant rulers in Ger- 
many — would support him. As a matter of fact, they held aloof. 
Ferdinand was chosen emperor (1619). He was a strong man, 
but narrow-minded, and determined to restore the empire to its 
former limits, and make it wholly Catholic. 

The English people were strongly in favor of aiding Frederick, 
both as a Protestant and as the husband of an English princess. 
James I, timid by nature, dilatory, and having an exalted opinion 
of his power as a diplomat, would take no active measures, and 
so, with the exception of allowing some volunteers to go to the 
Continent (History, § 351), nothing was done. 

146. Defeat of Frederick. 1620. — The Catholic rulers in Ger- 
many naturally supported Ferdinand in his campaign to defeat 
Frederick. A short but decisive battle was fought near Prague 
(November 8, 1620), in which Frederick's forces were routed in 
about an hour, and he was forced to fly. This was bad enough, 
but in 1621 the Duke of Bavaria invaded and seized the Upper 
Palatinate, and a Spanish army conquered the Lower Palatinate 
(1622), so Frederick lost not only the crown of Bohemia, but all 
his hereditary possessions as well, and became an exile for the rest 
of his life. Owing to the shortness of his reign he is often called 
the " Winter King." 

147. (2) The War ; Wallenstein. — From this time Northern 
Germany was little more than a battle ground. The invasion of 
the imperial troops at length frightened the Protestants, and Chris- 
tian of Denmark, who, as Duke of Holstein, had great interest in 
the affairs of northern Germany, resolved to intervene. The em- 
peror was without an army for North Germany, but Wallenstein, 1 
a Bohemian soldier of fortune, who had managed to secure large 
estates in Bohemia, offered to raise an army for the emperor at his 
own expense, and promising that if he were allowed to levy contri- 
butions on the countries occupied, the maintenance of the army 
would not cost the emperor anything. Mansfield, the general of 
the Protestant forces, had supported his army by plunder ; Tilly, 
the commander of the Catholic League, had not been much better, 

1 Mis real name was Albert of Waldstein. 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 623 

and Wallenstein's plan, though more plausible, was practically the 
same. Ferdinand, who had to choose between Wallenstein and 
doing nothing, chose Wallenstein. Christian was defeated, and 
northern Germany became a prey to Wallenstein and his army. 
The emperor issued what is known as the Edict of Restitution 
(1629), which restored all ecclesiastical possessions to the Catho- 
lics. This was the political turning point of the war for its sever- 
ity stirred up opposition. 

148. (3) Gustavus Adolphus. 1630. — But in 1630 another ele- 
ment was introduced. Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, a 
strong Protestant, the ablest general of his time, entered Germany 
with an army restrained by severe discipline. Two motives, per- 
haps with equal force, impelled Gustavus — the one, to defend the 
cause of Protestantism ; the other to extend the domains of 
Sweden. 

He was almost uniformly successful, and he marched through a 
large part of Germany. Wallenstein, who had been dismissed by 
the emperor, was recalled, and the two greatest generals of the 
whole war met at Lutzen, Saxony (November 16, 1632). The 
battle was long and bloody. Wallenstein was defeated, but the 
Swedish hero, Gustavus, was slain. 

149. War Continues; England. — The war, however, was not 
ended. The Protestant princes, notwithstanding all that Germany 
had suffered, were still divided, and the emperor was too weak 
to accomplish much. The war became a guerrilla conflict, and 
soldiers pillaged the land and committed terrible atrocities. 
Wallenstein, who had extensive plans for a united Germany, 
entered into negotiations, now with Richelieu, now with the Prot- 
estants, and in consequence became distrusted by the emperor 
and by the Catholics. In 1634 he was assassinated. 

England had not been simply a spectator. James I had tried 
to support Mansfield. In 1624 he sent ambassadors to the king 
of Denmark and to Gustavus Adolphus, urging them to help the 
course of Protestantism in Germany, and restore Germany to its 
former state. The kings had little confidence in James, and the 
negotiations amounted to little. In 1625 James died, and Charles I 
agreed to help the King of Denmark by sending funds. Some 



624 



APPENDIX I 



money was sent, but Parliament, distrusting Charles and not liking 
to send money to Germany, refused to make appropriations, and 
Charles was helpless. 

150. (4) France and Richelieu. — The part Richelieu played in 
the conflict has already been referred to. That Germany should 
be united into one strong power menacing France could not be 
endured. Spain ruled by Hapsburgs, aided the emperor, so Spain 
was an enemy of France. Therefore Richelieu helped the Prot- 
estants. The Spanish Netherlands were invaded (1635), an ^ a ^ ter 
the death of Gustavus Adolphus the Swedish army in time came 
under the control of France. Richelieu died in 1642, but his suc- 
cessor, the astute Mazarin, continued his policy. The war went 
on, the emperor and his allies steadily losing. Long before this 
the conflict had become a strife for mastery between France, and 
Spain and the emperor. 

151. Peace of Westphalia. 1648. — At last all parties were weary, 
and negotiations began in 1644. So difficult were the problems to 
be settled that it was not until 1648 that the Treaty of Westphalia 
was agreed upon and signed. Under the terms of this treaty 
Europe was administered till the French Revolution (1789). As 
in previous negotiations, all was done in the interests of princes, 
and the people received little or no consideration. The principal 
of cujus regio ejus religio (§ 125) was observed, except that 
Calvinism was recognized. A prince, whether Catholic or 
Protestant, if he chose, could force his subjects to adopt his religion 
or be banished from their homes. It must be said, however, that 
conditions were far different from those in 1555 (Peace of Augs- 
burg) ; now, practically every one was sick of disputes and fight- 
ings, the desire of gaining proselytes was driven out by the stern 
and awful lessons of war, and peace was longed for above all else. 

152. Results of the War. — The accounts of the ravages of the 
war are too dreadful to repeat. Even the soldiers fared hardly. 
" No careful surgeon passed over the battle field to save life or 
limb. No hospitals received the wounded to the tender nursing of 
loving gentle hands. Recruits were to be bought cheaply, and it 
cost less to enrol a new soldier than to cure an old one." 

The extent of the devastation is almost past belief; lands lay 



BRIEF HISTORY OF CONTINENTAL EUROPE 625 

uncultivated where there had been thousands of happy laborers ; 
cities and towns were more than decimated ; the prosperous city of 
Augsburg, which in 16 18 had eighty thousand inhabitants, in 1648 
had but sixteen thousand ; indeed, above two thirds of the popu- 
lation of Germany are said to have disappeared. Hundreds of 
villages were completely wiped out. But even worse than all this, 
was the moral decline of the community. It took Germany a 
century or more to recover from the effects of this awful period of 
brutal warfare. 

Politically, Germany remained a collection of about four hun- 
dred independent states. The empire was a name rather than a 
reality, and the Diet had little or no authority. Germany contin- 
ued to be " a geographical expression " for two centuries. France, 
under Louis XIV, was the chief power in Europe, one with which 
all the rest of Europe had to reckon. 

From this time, the affairs of northern and central Europe and 
of Italy are too much in detail to follow in a brief general sketch, 
while those of Austria, France, and Spain are, so far as they re- 
late to England, discussed elsewhere. 



APPENDIX II- 

The following list contains all the works referred to in the text, 
with a few others. For more extended bibliographies teachers 
and readers are referred to Andrews, Gambrill, and Tall, A Bibli- 
ography of History for Schools and Libraries, Longman's, N. Y., 
1910. 60 cents. 

LIST OF BOOKS FOR COLLATERAL READING AND 
REFERENCES 

1. SOURCE BOOKS 

Cheynev, E. P. : Readi?igs in English History. Ginn, Boston. $ 1. 80. 
Colby, C. W. : Selections from the Sources of English History, B C. jj-.-J D. 

1S32. Longmans, N. Y. $1.50. 
Kendall, E. K. : Source-Book of English History. Macmillan, N. Y. 80 

cents. 
Lee, G. C. : Source-Book of English History. Holt, N. Y. #2.00. 

Cannon, H. L. : Reading References for English History. Ginn, Boston. 

$ 2.50. 

(This work contains a vast store of references, but can only be used to 
advantage where a large library is available.) 
Robinson, J. H. : Readings in European History. 2 vols. Vol. 1, From 

the Breaking up of the Roman Empire to the Protestant Revolt; vol. 2, 

From the Opening of the Protestant Revolt to the Present Day. Ginn, 

Boston. $1.50 each. 
Ogg, F. A. : A Source-Book of Mediaval History. Amer. Book Co., N. Y. 

$1.50. 

2. GENERAL HISTORIES 

Cheyney, E. P. : Industrial and Social History of England. Macmillan, 

N.Y. #1.40. 
Gardiner, S. R. : Student's History of England from the Earliest Times to 

1885. Illustrated. 3 vols. $360, or bound in one volume, #3.00. 

Longmans, N. Y. 
Green, J. R. : A Short History of the English People. American Book Co., 

N. Y. $ 1.20, and other editions. 

626 



LIST OF BOOKS 



627 



Terry, Benjamin : History of England from the Earliest Times to the Death 
of Queen Victoria. Scot, Foresman Co., Chicago, 1901. #2.00. 

TOUT, T. F. : An Advanced History of Great Britain. Longmans, \.\. 
$1.50. 

Traill, II. D. : Social England to /SSj. 6 vols. Putnams, N. V. $21.00. 

ACLANI) AND RANSOME: English Political History in Outline, qth ed. Long- 
mans, N. Y. 1906. $2.00. 

(Strictly chronological, with brief references to foreign affairs. Fully 
indexed. A valuable book of reference for the teacher.) 

Robinson, J. H. : History of Western Europe. Ginn, Boston. 2 vols. $2.00. 

HAZEN, C. D. : Europe since /S/j. Holt, N. Y. $3 00. 
(A well-written and interesting book.) 

3. SPECIAL PERIODS 

Early Britain Series, S. P. C. K. or E. S. Gorham, N. Y. $ 1.00 to $ 1.25 each. 
RHYS, J.: Celtic Britain; Scarth : Roman Britain ; ALLEN, G: Anglo- 
Saxon Britain; COLLINGWOOD : Scandinavian Britain; Hint, W. : 
Norman Britain. 

Epoch Series. Longmans, N. Y. $1.00 each. Johnson, A. H. : The Nor- 
mans in Europe; STUBBS, W. : The Early Plantagenets ; Gairdnek. f. : 
Lancaster and York; SEEBOHM, F. : Era of the Protestant Revolution: 
CREIGHTON, M.: Age of Elizabeth; GARDINER, S. R. : The Puritan 
Revolution. 

GREEN, J. R.: The Making of England. Harpers, N. Y. $2.50. 

Jessoi>, A. : The Coming of the Briars, and Other Essays. Putnams, X. Y. 
#1.25. 

Macaulay, T. B. : History of England, Chapter III. Many editions. 

Macaulay, T. B. : Essays. Lord Clive ; William Pitt, Earl of Chatham ; 
Warren Hastings. Many editions. 

4. ATLASES 
Shepherd, W. R.: Historical Atlas. Holt, 191 2. $2.50. 

The best handy atlas; unusually clear maps and full index. 
GARDINER, S. R. : Atlas of English History. Longmans, X. Y. $ 1.50. 
MUIR, R. : Nezv School Atlas of Modem History, Holt, X. Y., 191 1. 51.25. 

The best cheap atlas of the kind. 

5. HISTORICAL FICTION 

Baker, E. A. : History in Fiction, etc. English Fiction. (Routledge.) 

E. P. Dutton & Co., X. Y. 75 cents. 
Baker, E. A.: Guide to the Best Fiction, Macmillan, N. Y. 1903. $2.50. 
BUCKLEY AND WILLIAMS : Guide to British Historical Fiction. Harrap & < .0. 

London, 1902. 



APPENDIX III 

IMPORTANT DATES IN ENGLISH HISTORY 



BRITAIN BEFORE THE COMING OF THE ENGLISH 



55 B -c 
54 • 

41 A.D. 

78-81 
121 
209 
4IO 



Caesar's first expedition to Britain. 

Cresar's second expedition to Britain. 

Beginning of Roman conquest of Britain. 

Agricola's government of Britain. 

Hadrian's wall built between the Solway and Tyne. 

Severus restored wall of Hadrian. 

Roman troops withdrawn from Britain. 



ENGLAND BEFORE THE NORMAN CONQUEST 



449-586 . 

597 • • 

827 . . 

787 'about) 

871-901 . 

991 . . 

1016-1035 

1016 . . 

1 042- 1 066 

1066 . . 

1066, October 



First English Settlement of Britain. 

Landing of St. Augustine. 

Egbert becomes king of all England. 

The Danish invasions begin. 

Alfred's reign. 

Danegeld first paid. 

Cnut (Canute) first Danish king. 

Edmund Ironside. 

Edward the Confessor. 

Harold II. 

Battle of Hastings. 



I 066- 1 08 7 
1085-1086 
1087-1100 
1093 . . 
1100-1135 
1 100 . . 
1135-1154 
1153 • • 



ENGLAND UNDER NORMAN KINGS 



William the Conqueror. 
Domesday Book. 
William II. 

Anselm Archbishop of Canterbury. 
Henry I. 
First charter. 
Stephen of Blois. 
Treaty of Wallingford. 
628 



IMPORTANT DATES IN ENGLISH HISTORY 



629 



ENGLAND UNDER PLANT AGENET KINGS 



1154-1189 
1154 . . 
1 162 . . 
1 1 64 . . 
1170, December. 
1171 . . 
1 1 76 . . 
1189-1199 
1199-1216 
1206 . . 
1213 . . 
1215 . . 
1216-1272 
1258 . . 

1264 . . 

1265 . . 
1265 . . 
1272-1307 
1276-1284 
1290 
1295 . 
1297 . 
1 307- 1 327 
I3H • 
1327-1377 
1338 • 
1340 . 

1346 , 

1347 • 
1 348- I 349 

1349 
I35 6 
1362 

i377-!399 
1381 . . 



Henry II. of Anjou. 

Becket chancellor. 

Becket Archbishop of Canterbury. 

Constitutions of Clarendon. 

Becket murdered. 

English rule in Ireland begins. 

Circuit judges established. 

Richard I. 

John. 

Stephen Langton Archbishop. 

John's homage to Pope Innocent III. 

Magna Charta. 

Henry III. 

Provisions of Oxford. 

Battle of Lewes. 

Battle of Evesham. 

Beginning of the House of Commons. 

Edward I. 

Conquest of Wales. 

Jews ordered to leave England. 

Edward invades Scotland. Eirst Complete Parliament. 

Confirmation of the charters. 

Edward II. 

Battle of Bannockburn. 

Edward III. 

Hundred Years' War begins. 

Battle of Sluys. 

Battle of Crecy. 

Capture of Calais. 

The Black Death. 

Eirst Statute of Laborers. 

Battle of Poitiers. 

English language used in law courts. 

Richard II. 

The Peasant's revolt. Wycliffe's Bible. 



ENGLAND UNDER HOUSES OF LANCASTER AND YORK 



1399-1413 • • Henr y IV - 

1403 .... Battle of Shrewsbury. 

1413-1422 . . Henry V. 

1414 .... Lollard rising. 



630 



APPENDIX III 



1415, October . Battle of Agincourt. 

1422- 146 1 . . Henry VI. 

1429 .... English defeated at Orleans. Joan of Arc. 

1431 .... "Joan of Arc" burned at Rouen. 

1449 .... Normandy lost by English. 

1450 .... Jack Cade's (Yorkist) rising. 

1453 .... Hundred Years' War ends. Loss of all French territory, 

except Calais. 

1455 .... Wars of the Roses begin. 

1461-1483 . . Edward IV. 

1466 .... Henry VI prisoner in Tower. 

1471 .... Edward IV wins battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury. 

1477 .... Caxton introduces printing. 

1483 .... Edward V, king, and murdered. 

1483-14S5 . . Richard III. 

1485 .... Battle of Bosworth; end of the Wars of the Roses. 



ENGLAND UNDER THE TUDORS 



1 485- 1 509 


. Henry VII. 




i486 . . 


. Star Chamber. 




1492 . . 


. Perkin Warbeck's revolt. 




1492 . . 


. America discovered. 




1502 . . 


Princess Margaret marries James IV 


of Scotland. 


1 509-1 547 


. Henry VIII. 




1513-1529 


Wolsey in power. 




I5U • • 


. Battle of Flodden Field. 




1529 . . 


. Fall of Wolsey. 




1 533-1 540 


. Thomas Cromwell in power. 




1534 • • 


. Act of Supremacy. 




1536 . . 


. Suppression of monasteries begins 
Grace. 


Pilgrimage of 


1536 . . 


. Wales united with England. 




1536 . . 


. Anne Boleyn executed. 




1547-1553 ' 


. Edward VI. 




1548 . . 


. First Book of Common Prayer. 




»553-i558 


. Mary. 




!554 • • 


. Wyatt's insurrection. 




1554 • • 


Lady Jane Grey executed. 




!554 • • 


. Mary I marries Philip II. 




^s 6 -^ 8 


. The persecution. 




1558 . . 


. Loss of Calais. 





IMPORTANT DATES IN ENGLISH HISTORY 



63I 



1 558-1 6. .3 

1559 • • 
1563 . . 
1568 . . 
1577-1580 

1587 . . 

1588 . . 

1600 . . 

1 601 . . 



Elizabeth. 

Court of High Commission founded. 

English Reformation completed. 

Mary Stuart flees to England. 

Sir Francis Drake sails round world. 

Mary Stuart executed. 

Spanish Armada. 

East India Company's Charter. 

Poor Law passed. 



1603-1625 

1603 

1605 

1611 

1620 

1625-1649 

1628 

l633 

1633 

1635 

1638 

1640 

1641 

1641 

1641 

1 64 1 

1642 

1642 

1643 
1644 

1645 

1645 

1645 

1647 

1648 

1649 

1 649- 1 660 

1 649-1 650 

1650 

165 1 . 

1653 . , 



ENGLAND UNDER THE STUARTS 

James I. 

. Union of the crowns of England and Scotland. 
Gunpowder Plot. 
Authorized Version of Bible. 
Pilgrim Fathers. 
Charles I. 
Petition of Right. 
Wentworth lord-deputy in Ireland. 
Laud made Archbishop of Canterbury. 
Ship-money resisted by Hampden. 
The National Covenant. 
Long Parliament met. 
Strafford executed. 

Court of High Commission abolished. 
Court of Star Chamber abolished. 
The Grand Remonstrance. 
Attempted arrest of Five Members. 
Civil War begins. 
Solemn League and Covenant. 
Battle of Marston Moor. 
Self-denying Ordinance. 
Laud executed. 
Battle of Naseby. 
Charles I given up to Parliament. 
"Pride's Purge." 
Charles I executed. 
The Commonwealth. 
Cromwell in Ireland. 
Battle of Dunbar. 
Battle of Worcester. 
Cromwell expels Long Parliament. 



632 



APPENDIX III 



1653 








Cromwell Lord Protector. " Barebones 


1658 






Cromwell's death. 


1660-1685 




Charles II. 


I 660- I 667 




. Earl of Clarendon chief minister. 


1661-1665 




. The Clarendon Code. 


I 664-1 667 




. Second Dutch War. 


1665 






Plague of London. 


1666 






Fire of London. 


1667 






Dutch fleet in Medway and Thames. 


1672-1674 




Third Dutch War. 


1673 






Test Act passed. 


1673-16 


76 




Earl of Danby chief minister. 


1677 






Princess Mary marries Prince of Orange 


1679 






Habeas Corpus Act. 


1685-1689 




James II. 


1685 






Monmouth's rebellion. 


1688 


. 




Second Declaration of Indulgence. 


1688 






Seven bishops tried. 


1 688, N 


ovember William of Orange lands at Torbay. 


,, fi „ ,_„ f William III, 
1689-1702 1 

{ and Mary II, to 1694. 


1689 


. . . Toleration Act. 


1689 








Bill of Rights. 


1689 








Siege of Londonderry. 


1690 








Battle of Boyne. 


1692 








Battle of La Hogue. 


1692 








Battle of Steenkerke. 


1692 








National debt begun. 


1694 








Bank of England founded. 


1695 








Freedom of press established. 


1 701 








Act of Settlement. 


1702-17 


14 




Anne. 


1 702- 1 -j 


13 




War of Spanish Succession. 


1704 






Battle of Blenheim. 


1704 






Capture of Gibraltar. 


1707 








Act of union of England and Scotland. 



ENGLAND UNDER HANOVERIAN SOVEREIGNS 



1 7 14-1727 . . George I. 

1715 .... First Jacobite rebellion, the " Old Pretender." 

1711-1720 . . South Sea Scheme. 

1 721-1742 . . Walpole prime minister; the Cabinet. 



IMPORTANT DATES IN ENGLISH HISTORY 



£>33 



4 lh 



[727-1760 

[741-1748 

1743 • 

'745 • 

[745-1746 

1746 . 

[752 . , 

[756-1763 

[757-1761 

[760 

[760-1820 

'763 
[764 
[765 

'773 
1774 
[ 775 • 
775 • 
[776, July 
[777 . 
[778 . 
[781 . 

>783 • 
[783-1801 

[788-1795 

[789 

793 

'795 
[798 



[802 
[805, October . 
[806, February . 
[807 . . . . 
[812-1S14 . . 
[814, December 
[815, June 18 
[815, November 
[816 . . 
[820-1830 
[828 . . 
[829 . . 
[830 . . 



George II. 

War of Austrian Succession. 

Battle of Dettingen. 

Battle of Fontenoy. 

Young Pretender's rebellion. 

Battle of Culloden. 

New style (calendar) adopted. 

Seven Years' War. 

William Pitt (the elder) in power. 

Conquest of Canada. 

George III. 

Peace of Paris. 

Hargreave's Spinning Jenny. 

Grenville's Stamp Act. 

'• Boston Tea Party." 

American Declaration of Rights. Quebec Act. 

War of American colonists. 

Battle of Bunker Hill. 

American Declaration of Independence. 

Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga. 

Death of Chatham. 

British surrender at Yorktown. 

England acknowledges independence of America. 

William Pitt minister. 

Trial of Warren Hastings. 

French Revolution. 

War with French Republic. 

Cape Colony occupied. 

Irish rebellion. 

Legislative Union of Great Britain and Ireland. 

Peace of Amiens. 

Battle of Trafalgar. Austerlitz. 

Death of Pitt. 

Abolition of British slave trade. 

War with United States. 

Treaty of Ghent. 

Battle of Waterloo. 

Peace of Paris. 

Second Congress of Vienna. 

George IV. 

Corporation and Test Acts repealed. 

Catholic Emancipation Act passed. 

Manchester and Liverpool railway. 



634 



APPENDIX III 



i 830- i 83 7 

1832 . 

1833 • 

1834 . 

1835 • 
1837-1901 

1837-1848 

1838 

1846 

1850 

1851 

1854-1856 

1856, March 

1857 
1858 
1867 
1869 
1870 
1870 
1872 
1872 
1874 

1875 

1877 

1878 

1879 

1881 

1882 

1 884- I 885 

1 884- I 885 

1886 . . 

1887, June 

1888 . . 

1893 • • 

1896 . . 

1899-1902 

1901-1910 

1902 

1902 

1908 

1909 

1910 

191 1 



William IV. 

First Reform Bill. 

Abolition of Slavery in British dominions. 

New Poor Law. 

Municipal Reform Act. 

Victoria. 

Chartists give trouble. 

Anti-Corn Law League formed. " People's Charter." 

Repeal of Corn Laws. 

Sir Robert Peel died. 

Great Exhibition in Hyde Park. 

Crimean War. 

Treaty of Paris. 

Sepoy revolt in India. 

Government of India transferred to the Crown. 

Second Reform Bill. 

Irish Church Act (Disestablishment). 

Irish Land Act. 

Elementary Education Act. 

Alabama Claims Arbitration. 

Ballot Act. 

Ashantee War. 

Purchase of Suez Canal shares. 

Victoria proclaimed empress of India. 

The Berlin Congress and Treaty. 

Zulu and Afghan Wars. 

Boer War. 

Egyptian War. 

Soudan War. 

Third Reform Act. 

Gladstone's Irish Home Rule Bill rejected. 

Queen's Jubilee celebrated. 

Local Government Act. 

Second Irish Home Rule Bill rejected by the Lords. 

Jameson's Raid on the Transvaal. 

Boer War. 

Edward VII. 

Education Act. 

Boer Republics incorporated with British Empire. 

Old Age Pensions. 

Union of South Africa. 

George V. 

Veto Bill; Salary of Members of Parliament. 



[IMPORTANT DATES IN ENGLISH HISTORY 



635 



191 2 .... Insurance Act. 

1913 .... Third Irish Home Rule IJill rejected by the Lords. 
1913 .... Welsh Disestablishment Act rejected by the Lords. 




The Victoria Cross 
Established in 1857 for acts of bravery in battle 



INDEX 



Aberdeen, Lord, 495, 499, 500. 

"Abhorrers, " 369. 

Act, Uniformitv (1549), 230; Uniformity 
(1552), 231; Supremacy (1559), 254; 
Uniformity (1559), 254; of Attainder 
(1641), 315, 316 and note ; Navigation 
(1651-1660), 338, 339, 348, 354; In- 
demnity (1660), 354 and note; Con- 
venticle (1664), 356; Corporation 
(1661), 356, 479; Five-Mile (1665), 
356 note, 357; Uniformity (1662), 
356; Explanation (1665), 359; of Set- 
tlement (1661), 359; Test (1673), 
366,479; Exclusion (1680), 369; Tol- 
eration (1689), 390; (Mutiny) (1689), 
391 and note ; Grace (1690), 392 ; At- 
tainder, The Great (16S9), 392; Li- 
censing printing (1695), 400 and note ; 
Recoinage (1696), 401; Settlement 
(1701), 406; Occasional Conformity 
(1711), 415, 421; Schism (1714), 
415, 421; Riot (1715), 419; Sep- 
tennial (1716), 421 ; Stamp, Amer- 
ican (1765), 441, 443; Townshend 
(1767), 441; Quebec (1774), 442; 
Union (1800), 463, 490; Emancipa- 
tion (1833), 484 and note; Factory 
(1833) 484 and note ; Municipal 
Corporations (1835), 4S6 and note; 
Irish Tithe (183S), 490; Bank (1844), 
497 and note; Education (1870), 
511, 512; Irish Land (1870), 511; 
Ballot (1872), 512; Licensing 
(1874), 513 and note; Irish Land 
(1881), 517; Employers' Liability 
(1880), 519; Aliens (1905), 534; Irish 
Land (1903), 534; Veto (1911), 
538, 544; South Africa (1909), 542; 
Accession Declaration (1910), 543. 

Acts of Parliament, see also Statutes and 
Bills. 

Addled Parliament, 296. 

Afghanistan, war in, 516. 

Africa, partition of, 523, 524. 

Africa, South, see South Africa. 

Agincourt, Battle of, 169. 

Agriculture, Roman period, 8 ; before 
1066, 17, 47; Norman, 95, 96; 15th 
and 16th centuries, 244, 246, 258; 
17th century, 380 ; 18th century, 452. 

Alabama, Claims, The, 509 note, 513. 

Albert, Prince, 489 and note, 498, 507, 508. 

Alcuin, 22. 

Alfred the Great, 26; Peace with Guth- 
rum, 26, 27 ; Peaceful Reforms, 28 ; 
Service to Literature and Education, 
29; to religion, 31. 

Aidan, 20. 

Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), Peace of, 131, 433. 

America, Discovery of by ('abuts, 194, 
195; colonies in, 293, 291, 347, 348; 



war in (1754-1763), 436; Stamp Act 
(1765), 441, 443; Revolution in, 
443-447; Independence acknowl- 
edged, 447; War of 1812, 472; Civil 
War in, and England's, attitude, .'i()7 
509. 

Amiens, Mise of (1264), 107. 

Amiens, Treaty of (1802), 465. 

Angevin, the first in England, 66. 

Angle-land, 13. 

Angles, on the Continent, 12; give name 
to England, 13; settle in England, 
13 ; boy slaves in Rome, 18. 

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 31. 

Anglo-Saxons, 31 ; come to Britain, 12-14 ; 
early kingdoms, in Britain, 14-16; 
civilization of, 16-17. 

"Annates" (1532), 207. 

Anne Boleyn, see Boleyn, Anne. 

Anne Hyde, daughter of Duke of York 
(James II), 367 note. 

Anne of Cleves, 217. 

Anne, Queen, appearance and character, 
408 ; relations with the Marlborough*, 
408-412; War of the Spanish succes- 
sion, 410-412; Union of Scotland 
and England (1707), 413-414. 

Anselm, Archbishop, 59, 61. 

Anti-corn League (1838), 492, 495, 496. 

Arbitration, 513. 

Architecture, early, 46 ; Norman, 98, 99 ; 
under Elizabeth, 283; 17th century, 
■386 387 

Argyll, Marquis of (1661), 358 and note; 
uprising in Scotland under (16S5), 
373, 374, 420. 

Arkwright, Richard, 450. 

"Armada, The Invincible," 274-276. 

Armenian Massacres, 523. 

Arms, Assize of (USD, 78. 

Army, nucleus of standing, 36; under 
Henry II, 69; "New Model," 326, 
327. 

Arthur, King. 14 ; Prince, 85, 86. 

Articles of Faith (or Religion), 217, 228, 
232, 234. 

Asquith, Henry Herbert, 536, 537, 539. 

Assiento, The (1713), 413. 

Assize of Arm, (1181), 78; "The Bloody" 
(1685), 374, 375. 

Association, Bond of, 268, 270. 

Athling, 48. 

Attainder, Bill of, 316 note. 

Augustine introduces Christianity into 
Britain, IS, 19; made Archbishop, 
19. 

Australia. 5(11. 

Austrian Succession. War of, 429. 



Babington Plot, 269. 

Bacon, Francis, impeachment of, 296, 297. 



637 



6 3 8 



INDEX 



Bacon, Roger, 112. 

Balaklava, Battle of, 501 note. 

"Balance of Power," 502. 

Balfour, Arthur J., 523, 532, 535. 

Ball, John, 152. 

Balliol, John, 121, 134. 

Bank Act (1844), 492 and note. 

Bank of England, established, 398, 497. 

Bannerman, see Campbell-Bannerman. 

Bannockburn, Battle of, 130. 

Baptists, 356 note. 

"Barebones" Parliament, 340, 341. 

Barnet, Battle of, 179. 

Barons, Norman, under William I, 54, 
56 ; do homage to William I, 56, 57. 
revolt under William II, 59 ; Henry 
I grants charter to, 60 ; Stephen's 
trouble with, 64 ; Henry II and, 69, 
75, 76; revolt under John, 88, 90, 
91 ; get Magna Carta, 89 ; wars under 
Henry III, 106, 107, 108. 

Bayeux Tapestrv, 41 note. 

Beachy Head, Battle of, 396. 

Beaufort, Ladv Margaret, 180. 

Becket, Thomas, 68, 70-73; murder of, 
74 ; shrine destroyed, 212. 

Bede, Venerable, 22. 

"Benevolences," 180, 181, 296, 300. 

Berlin Congress (1878), 516. 

Berlin Decree, 469. 

Berwick, Treaty of (1639), 313. 

Bible, Wycliffe's, 156, 157 ; Coverdale's, 
215; Tyndale's, 215, 216; James I, 
"Authorized Version," 290, 388. 

Bill, of Attainder (1641), 315; defined, 
316 note; Triennial (1641) 316; 
(1664), 355; (1694), 398; "Root and 
Branch" (1641), 317; Militia (1642), 
320; Rights (1689), 390; Excise 
(1733), 425 ; Internal Revenue (1733), 
425; Boston Port (1774), 442; Cath- 
olic Emancipation (1829), 479; Re- 
form (1832), 482 and note, 484, 492; 
(1867), 510; Licensing (1872), 513; 
Roval Titles (1S76), 515; Franchise 
(1884), 519 and note; Redistribu- 
tion (1885), 519 and note; Irish 
Home Rule (1885, 1893), 520, 521 ; 
(1912-1913), 544; Education (1902), 
534 and note, 536; Finance (1909), 
536-537; Old Age Pension (1908), 
536; Parliament (1910), 538 and 
note, 540 ; National Insurance 
(1912), 540; Minimum Wage (1912), 
542 ; Money, 583 and note. 

Bills of Parliament, see also Statutes and 
Acts. 

Black Death, 141. 

"Black Hole of Calcutta, The," 436. 

Black Prince, 139 and note, 142-145. 

Blake, Robert, 339, 347. 

Blenheim, Battle of, 411. 

"Bloody Assize" (1685), 374, 375. 

Boers, 506, 516, 517, 525-528. 

Boer War, 527, 528, 530. 

Boleyn, Anne, 207, 214. 

Bolingbroke, Viscount, 414, 415, 419 and 
note, 420 and note, 427. 

Bonaparte, see Napoleon Bonaparte. 

Bookland, 47, 48. 

"Book of Sports," 309. 



Boroughs, "pocket" 481 note, 483; 
"rotten," 481 note, 483. 

"Boston Massacre," 441. 

Boston Port Bill (1774), 442. 

Bosworth Field, Battle of, 182, 183. 

Bouvines, Battle of, 88. 

Boxer Insurrection, China, 529, 530. 

Boycotting, 518 and note. 

Boyne, Battle of the, 393. 

Braddock's defeat, 436. 

Breda, Declaration of (1660), 351, 352. 

Bretigny, Treaty of (1360), 143. 

Bright, John, 492, 496, 507 note. 

Britain, early inhabitants, 2 ; Roman con- 
quest of, 5 ; Roman occupation, 6, 
7, 8, 10 ; Roman rule in, 6, 7, 8, 10 ; 
withdrawal of Romans, 10 ; Teutonic 
conquest of, 12-17; Introduction 
of Christianity, 17, 18, 19, 20. 

British Isles, area, 1 ; physical charac- 
teristics, 1. 

Britons, ancient, 2, 3, 4. 

Brownists, 277. 

Bruce, Robert, 128, 130, 134. 

Buckingham, Duke of (George Villiers), 
295, 298, 300, 302. 

"Budget," meaning of, 536 note; (1909), 
536-538. 

Bunyan, John, 356, 357. 

Burghley, Lord, Sir William Cecil, 253, 
256, 258. 

Burgoyne's defeat, 444. 

Burke, Edmund, 442, 446, 457-459. 

Bute, Earl of, 439. 

Cabal Ministry (1667), 363, 364. 
Cabinet, beginnings of, 363, 364 ; under 

George I, 418; the real power, 488, 

489. 
Cabots, the, discover America, 194, 195. 
Cade's Rebellion (1450), 174, 175. 
Caesar, Julius invades Britain, 5. 
Calais taken by England, 139; lost, 240, 

241, 258. 
Calendar, reform in, 432. 
Cambridge, 101, 102, 194, 512. 
Campbell-Bannerman, Sir Henry, 535, 

536 and note. 
Camperdown, Battle of, 460. 
Canada, 490, 491, 505 and note. 
Canals, 451. 

Canning, George, 476-478 and note. 
Cannon first used, 140. 
Canterburv, mother of the English church, 

19. 
Canute, see Cnut. 
Cape of Good Hope taken from the Dutch, 

460, 474. 
Cape St. Vincent, Battle of, 460. 
Caroline, Queen, not crowned, 476. 
Cartwright, John, 450. 
Cartwright, Thomas, 276. 
"Casket Letters," 263. 
('astlc^, Tower of London, 54; built in 

Norman Britain, 98 ; of Edward I, 

in Wales, 120. 
Catherine of Aragon, 193, 195, 202-204, 

207. 
Catherine Howard, 218. 
Catherine Parr, 218. 
Catholic Emancipation Bill (1829), 479. 



INDEX 



639 



Catholic Relief Bill (1793), 462, 469. 

Catholics, .see Church, Catholic. 

Cavalier Parliament, 354. 

Cavaliers and Roundheads, 324. 

Cavendish, Lord Frederick, 518. 

Caxton's Press, 185. 

Cecil, Sir Robert, 280, 289, 294. 

Cecil, Sir William (Lord Burghley), 253, 
256, 25S. 

Celtic Christianity, 19. 

Celts, 2, 3, 4. 

Ceylon, taken from the Dutch, 460, 474. 

Chad, St., 20. 

Chamberlain, Joseph, 527, 535. 

Charlemagne, see Charles the Great. 

Charles I, character of, 299 ; belief in 
divine right of kings, 299 ; marries 
Henrietta Maria, 299 ; struggle of, 
with Parliament, 299-305; grants 
"Petition of Right," 301, 302; per- 
sonal rule of, 305 ; angers Scottish 
ehurch, 312; summons Parliament, 
313; summons "Long Parliament," 
314; trial of Strafford, 314-316; 
Grand Remonstrance, 317; attempts 
arrest of five members, 318; Militia 
Bill, 320; civil war begins, 321; 
turns to the Scots, 327 ; taken pris- 
oner, 329 ; trial and execution of, 
331, 332. 

Charles II, proclaimed in Ireland, 334 ; 
defeated at Worcester, 336, 337; 
lands at Dover, 352 ; character of, 
353 ; War with Holland, 360, 361 ; 
Cabal ministry, 363, 364 ; Treaty of 
Dover, 364, 365; "Popish Plot," 
36S, 369; personal rule, 371. 

Charles Edward, The Young Pretender, 
429-431 and note. 

Charles the Great, 22. 

Charlotte, Princess, 476. 

Charters, Henrv I, to the barons (1100), 
60; Stephen (1136), 63, 64; John 
and the Great Charter (1215), 89, 90; 
Great Charter revised, 92 ; con- 
firmed, 104, 105; Provisions of Ox- 
ford (1258), 107; Edward I, Confir- 
matio Cartarum (1297), 124, 125; 
"People's Charter" (1838), 491, 492. 

Chartism, 491, 492. 

Chartists, 492, 498. 

Chatham, Earl of, see Pitt. 

Chaucer, Geoffrey, 148, 149, 150, 155. 

Child Labor in 16th century, 250. 

China, war with (opium war), 494, 495; 
Boxer Insurrection, 529; "open 
door," 529; "Boxer Rising," 530. 

Chivalry, 94, 140. 

Christianity introduced into Roman 
Britain, 17-19; coming of Augustine. 
18; Celtic, 19, 20; council of Whitby, 
20 ; influence of ehurch, 20 ; church 
organized, 21. 

Chronicle, Anglo-Saxon, 31. 

Church, Catholic, Augustine founds, 18, 
19 ; council of Whitby, 20 ; growth 
into national, 20, 56 ; monasticism 
and monasteries, 50, 51, 100, 209-213 
William I establishes church courts 
56; William II quarrels with, 59 
Henry I and, 61 ; Henry II, and, 70 



Constitutions of Clarendon, 71, 72; 
the Crusades, 79, 82; John and the 
church, 80, 87; Magna Carta and, 
90; Wycliffe and, 155-157; the 
Lollards and, 157, 163, 167. 168; 
Henry VIII breaks with Rome, 208; 
Henry VIII head of the church, 206; 
Henry VIII destroys monasteries, 
210-213; Edward VI prayer books, 
230, 231 ; Mary reestablishes Catho- 
lic, 239 ; persecution under Mary, 
239-241. 

Church, English, Act of Uniformity (1559), 
25 4 ; Elizabeth breaks with Rome, 
254, 255; Puritans, 255; Elizabeth 
persecutes Catholics, 266; "Author- 
ized Version" of the Bible, 290; 
Presbyterianism in England, 326 ; 
Act of Uniformity (1662), 356 ; James 
II and, 373, 376; Revolution of, 
16S8, 389, 390; Toleration Act 
(1689), 390; Irish, disestablished, 511 ; 
Welsh Disestablishment Bill rejected 
by Lords, 545. 

Circulation of the blood discovered, 388. 

Cities and towns, 46, 97, 247, 371, 380, 
381 

Civil War (1642-1649), 321-333. 

Clarendon, Constitutions of (1164), 71, 72. 

Clarendon Code (1661-1665), 355-358, 
371. 

Clarendon, Earl of, 362, 363. 

Clarkson, Thomas, 454. 

Claverhouse, Viscount of Dundee, 395. 

Clive, Robert, 434 and note, 436. 

Cnut, 34-37. 

Cobden, Richard, 492, 496, 507 note. 

Coffeehouses, 382, 385 and note. 

Coinage, debased by Henry VIII, 222, 
246-247; reformed under Elizabeth, 
258; Recoinage Act (1696), 401. 

Colet. John, 193. 

Colonies, in Ireland (1611), 293; in Amer- 
ica, 293, 294; Cromwell's policy 
towards, 347 ; established by Charles 
II, 361 ; Colonial expansion, 504 ; 
legislative and economic independ- 
ence, 505 ; general policy towards, 
504, 505; West Indian, 505. 

Columba, 20. 

Commerce, see Trade and Commerce. 

Commonwealth, the, 333. 

Compurgation, 50. 

Confirmatio Cartarum (1297), 124, 125. 

Conservative Party, 489 note, 509, 51 1, 
516. 

Constitutions of Clarendon (1164), 71, 72. 

Continental System, 469. 

Convention Parliament, 351, 352. 

Copenhagen, Battle of, 461. 

Corn Laws, 452; Anti-corn Law League, 
492 ; laws repealed, 496 and note. 

Coronation chair, 126; oath, see Acces- 
sion Declaration Act. 

Council, The Great, 103; of the North, 
307; of Wales, 307 note. 

Counter-Reformation, 266. 

Countv councils (Local Government Bill), 
521. 

Courts, Ecclesiastical, 56, 70; Curia 
Regis, 68 note ; Henry II, 78 ; Mano- 



640 



_ INDEX 



rial, 95, Edward I, 115; under Nor- 
mans, 103 ; of High Commission, 307 ; 
of Star Chamber, 307, 308. 

Covenant, the Scottish, 312, 336. 

Covenant, The Solemn League and, 325, 
326. 

Covenanters, 359, 370. 

Coverdale's Bible, 215. 

Craft gilds, 247. 

Cranmer, Archbishop, 204, 207, 223, 234, 
239 240. 

Crecy, Battle of, 139. 

Crimean War, 494, 500-502, 513. 

Criminal laws revised, 477. 

Cromer, Lord, 529. 

Crompton, Samuel, 450. 

Cromwell, Oliver, 314, 324 ; appearance 
and character of, 342, 343 ; organized 
armv, 326, 327 ; rises to be leader, 326 ; 
in Ireland, 334, 335 ; in Scotland, 336 ; 
dissolves "The Rump," 340; made 
Protector, 342 ; religious policy, 345 ; 
foreign policy, 346 ; colonization 
schemes, 348; death of, 349. 

Cromwell, Richard, 350. 

Cromwell, Thomas, 204, 206, 209-211, 
217; fall of, 218; work of, 218. 

Crosses, Queen Eleanor's, 122. 

Crusades, 79, 82. 

Culloden Moor, Battle of, 430. 

Curia Regis, 68 note. 

Cuthbert, 20. 

Cyprus, 516. 

Danbv, Thomas Osborne, Earl of, 367- 
369, 372. 

Danegeld, 34. 

Danelaw, 28. 

Danes, invade England, 24, 25; Alfred 
and, 26, 28 ; Danelaw, 28 ; Treaty of 
Wedmore, 28 ; Swegen conquers 
England, 35; Cnut, 35-37. 

Darien Scheme, 401, 402. 

Darnley, Lord, 262, 263. 

Debt, beginning of National, 398. 

Declaration of Breda (1660), 351, 353; 
of Indulgence (1672), 366; (1687- 
1688), 375, 376; of Rights (1689), 
379 and note. 

Deists, 453. 

Despensers, father and son, 130-132. 

Dictum of Kenilworth (1266), 111. 

Disraeli, Benjamin (Lord Beaconsfield), 
499, 504, 507 note, 510, 511, 514-516 
and note. 

Dissenters, 356, 366, 371, 375, 376, 391 
and note, 421 and note, 424, 453, 519, 
534 note; see also Non-conformists. 

Divine right of kings, 290, 299. 

Domesday Book, 57. 

Dover, Treaty of (1670), 364. 

Drake, Francis, 271-276. 

Dress, styles of, 45, 46, 94, 282, 384, 454, 
455. 

Drogheda, Battle of, 335 and note. 

Druids, 3, 4, 10. 

Dudley, Earl of Leciester, 279. 

Dueling, 455. 

Dunbar, Battle of, 336. 

Dunkirk, 347, 360. 

Dunstan, 33, 51. 



Duquesne, Fort, 436, 438. 

Durbar at Delhi (1912), 543. 

Durham, Lord, 490. 

Dutch, control carrying trade, 338 ; Navi- 
gation Act (1651), against, 338, 339; 
war with (1652-1654), 339; New 
Netherland captured, 360, 361 ; war 
with (1664-1667), 360, 361; London 
blockaded, 361 ; plot against, 364, 
365; war with (1672), 365; Wil- 
liam of Orange becomes King of 
England, 379. 

Duties, Walpole reduces, 425 : Reforms 
in (1842), 495, 496; reduction in, 
478 ; see Corn Laws. 

Earl, 48 note, 49, 50. 

East India Company, 293, 294, 360, 433, 
447, 485, 494, 504. 

Edgar the Peaceful, 33. 

Edgehill, Battle of, 325. 

Edinburgh (Edwinsburgh), 22. 

Edington, Battle of, 28. 

Edmund Ironside, 35. 

Education, Anglo-Saxon, 21-23, 30, 31 ; 
Norman, 101, 102; universities 
founded, 101, 102; Renaissance in 
England, 193, 194; Henry VIII 
Grammar Schools, 212 ; Edward VI 
Grammar Schools, 228 note; in 15th 
and 16th centuries, 251 ; under Eliza- 
beth, 284, 285 ; in 17th century, 384, 
385, 386 ; Elementary Education 
Act (1870), 511, 512, 534; religious 
tests abolished at universities, 512 ; 
Education Bill (1902), 534 and note, 
536. 

Edward, son of Alfred, 33 ; son of Edgar, 
34; the Confessor, 37; The Black 
Prince, 139, 142-145. 

Edward I, character of, 114; important 
laws, 114-117; and the Jews, 117, 
118; conquers Wales, 119, 120; and 
Scotland, 120, 125-128; confirms 
the charters, 124, 125 and note ; 
death of, 128. 

Edward II, character of, 128, 129; his fa- 
vorites, 129, 130; defeated at Ban- 
nockburn, 130 ; abdicates and is 
murdered, 132. 

Edward III, 133; character of, 134; 
Scottish war, 134, 140 ; and the 
Flemings, 136 ; Hundred Years' 
War begins, 137 ; Battle of Crecy, 139 ; 
takes Calais, 139, 140; the "Black 
Prince," 139 and note, 142-145; The 
Black Death, 141 ; Battle of Poitiers, 
142; Treaty of Bretigny, 143; last 
years of and death, 146, 147 ; growth 
of English language and literature 
under, 148-150. 

Edward IV, character of, 181 ; Wars of the 
Roses, 178-181; system of "benevo- 
lences," 180, 181 ; printing intro- 
duced, 185. 

Edward V, 181 ; Gloucester Protector, 
182; murdered in the Tower, 182. 

Edward VI, character of, 227 ; Grammar 
Schools founded, 228 note, First 
Prayer Book, 230 ; Second Prayer 
Book, 231. 



INDEX 



64I 



Edward VII, character of, 533 ; Educa- 
tion Bill (1902), 534; Labor Party, 
536 and note, Budget (1909), 536- 
538; "New Domesday Book," 537; 
woman suffrage, 540, 541 ; strikes 
(1910-1912), 541, 542. 

Egbert, Union under, 23 ; dies, 26. 

Egypt, 519, 520, 533. 

Eleanor, wife of Edward I, 111, 122. 

Eliot, Sir John, 300, 303, .ill I. 

Elizabeth, Princess, daughter of Henry 
VIII, 208; imprisoned by Mary I, 
237, 238. 

Elizabeth, Queen, 252 ; appearance and 
character of, 252, 253; Act of Su- 
premacy (1559), 254 ; Act of Uniform- 
ity (1559), 254; domestic problems 
confronting, 254 ; foreign relations, 
255, 256 ; and the Marriage Ques- 
tion, 256, 257 ; general policy of, 
258 ; Poor Laws, 258, 259 ; Scotland 
and, 259, 260 ; excommunicated, 
265, 266; plots against, 265-270; 
Bond of Association, 268, 270; and 
Mary Queen of Scots, 269, 270 ; de- 
struction of the Armada, 274-276; 
and Ireland, 277, 278 ; literature 
under, 279, 280; abolishes "mo- 
nopolies," 281 ; prosperity of England 
under, 282 ; Royal Progresses, 284 ; 
death of, 281. 

Emancipation Act (1833), 484 and note. 

Emma, mother of Edward the Confessor, 
37. 

Emmet, Robert, 467. 

Enclosures, 174 ; see also Land. 

England, origin of name, 13; introduc- 
tion of Christianity, 17-20; con- 
quered by the Normans, 40-42. 

English or Angles come to Britain, 12, 13. 

Eorl or Eoldorman, 48. 

Erasmus, 194, 216. 

Essex, Earl of, 279. 

Ethelbert, King of Kent, 17. 

Ethelfted, Lady of Mercia, 33. 

Ethelred the Unready, 34, 35. 

Eugene, Prince of Savov, 411 and note. 

Evesham, Battle of, 110, 111. 

Excise Bill, 425. 

Fairfax, 329, 336, 350, 351. 

Falaise, Treaty of (1174), 77, 78. 

Falkirk, Battle of, 126. 

Famine, Irish (1845-1846), 496, 497. 

Famous Parliament of 1265, 110. 

Farms and farming, see Agriculture. 

Fawkes, Guy, 291, 292. 

Fenians, 510. 

Fenwick's Plot, 400. 

Feudalism, William I and, 56, 57; under 
Henry II, 69; in the Great Charter, 
90; and statute of Quia Emptores, 
117; disappearing, 187. 

Field of the Cloth of Gold, 198, 193. 

Fire, The Great, 362. 

Fisher, Bishop, execution of, 208. 

Flanders and wool trade, 136. 

Flodden Field, Battle of, 196. 

Folkland, 47, 48. 

Forests, 47, 58 ; under Charles I, 311, 312. 

Forster, William Edward, 512. 



Fosse Way, 7. 

Fox, Charles James, 446, 447, 457, 458, 468. 

France, Henry Il'a possessions in, 68 ; and 
Edward I, 122; alliance, with Scot- 
land, 123, 131 ; Edward III claims 
crown of, 136; and Hundred Years' 
War, 137, 144; Calais taken by Eng- 
land, 139; Treaty of Bretigny, 143; 
and Henry V, 168-170; Joan of Arc, 
171, 172; Hundred Years' War, end of, 
172; and Henry VIII, 222; Calais 
lost, 240, 241, 258; Cromwell 
gets Dunkirk, 347; Charles II, 
secret treaty with, 364, 365; Peace 
of Ryswick, 397 ; Alliance with 
America, 444 ; The Revolution, 45S, 
459; War with England (1793), 
459; battle of Waterloo, 473. 

French, Revolution, The, 45S, 459. 

Friars Mendicant, 112. 

Gaels, 2. 

"Gag Laws," 476. 

Gardiner, Bishop, 223, 234, 238, 239, 241. 

Gaunt, John of, 147, 153, 161. 

Gaveston, Piers, 129. 

George, Prince of Denmark, 408. 

George I, character, 415, IKS, 417 ; and the 
Whigs, 417H119; Scottish Rising 
(1715), 419, 420; Septennial Act 
(1716), 421 ; South Sea Scheme, 
421-423; Walpole, prime minister, 
423. 

George II, character of, 426 ; war of 
Jenkins's Ear, 428 and note ; War 
of the Austrian Succession, 429 ; 
Young Pretender, 429-431 and note; 
change in Calendar, 432 ; war in 
India, and "Black Hole," 436; war 
in America, 436, 443-447 ; Seven 
Years' War, 437. 

George III, character of, 438 ; war with 
American Colonies, 443-447; "In- 
dustrial Revolution," 450, 455, 456,' 
499 ; impeachment of Warren Hast- 
ings, 457 ; Union of Ireland and 
Great Britain (1800), 463-465; slave 
trade abolished, 469 ; war with 
America (1812), 472 ; Battle of Water- 
loo (1815), 473; becomes perma- 
nently insane, 475. 

George IV, regency of, 475, coronation of, 
476; Manchester Meeting (1819), 
475; Queen Caroline, 476; "Six 
Acts," 476 ; police force reformed, 477 ; 
repeal of Corporation Act (1828), 
479; repeal of Test Act (1828), 479; 
Catholics, admitted to Parliament, 
479. 

George V, 539, 543 ; marries Princess 
Mary of Teck, 543 and note, woman 
suffrage, 540, 541 ; strikes (1910- 
1912), 541, 542; the Durbar, 543. 

George, David Lloyd, 536, 537, 540. 

Ghent, Treaty of (1814), 472. 

Gibraltar, 411, 447. 

Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, 285. 

Gilds, 98, 247. 

Gladstone, W. E., 485 and note, 495, 499, 
504, 507 note, 509-511, 514, 516, 
520-522 and note. 



642 



INDEX 



Glencoe, Massacre of, 395, 396. 
Glendower, Owen, revolt of under Henry 

IV, 164. 
Godwin, 37. 
Goidels, 2. 

Good Parliament, 146, 147. 
Gordon, General Charles, 519, 520 and 

note. 
Gordon, Lord George, Riots, 454. 
Grand Alliance (1702), 407. 
Grand Remonstrance, the (1641), 317. 
Grattan, Henry, 445, 462. 
Gregory and the English slaves, 17, 18. 
Grenville, George, 440. 
Grey, Earl, 482 and note. 
Grey, Lady Jane, 232, 233, 237. 
Grosseteste, Adam Robert, 112. 
Gunpowder Plot, The, 291, 292. 
Guthrum, 26. 

Habeas Corpus, 301 and note, suspended, 
475; Act (1679), 369 and note, 375. 

Halidon Hill, Battle of, 134. 

Hampden, John, and "Ship Money," 311. 

Hampton Court Conference (1604), 290. 

Hargreaves, James, 450. 

Harold, son of Cnut, 37. 

Harold II, last Saxon king, 38 ; killed 
at Battle of Hastings, 40. 

Harthacnut, 37. 

Hastings, Battle of (1066), 40. 

Hastings, Warren, 457 and note. 

"Heads of Proposals" (1647), 329. 

Heligoland, 469 and note, 474 and note. 

Hengist and Horsa, 12. 

Henrietta Maria, 299, 303, 319. 

Henry I, 60 ; character of, 63 ; grants 
charter to barons, 60 ; and Robert, 
61; "The White Ship," 61, 62; and 
France, 61, 62; achievements, 63; 
and Ireland, 74, 75 ; and the Barons, 
75. 

Henry II, character of, 66 ; castles de- 
molished, 66, 69 ; reforms of, 69, 78 ; 
and the church, 70 ; quarrel with 
Becket, 70-74 ; Constitutions of 
Clarendon, 71, 72 ; murder of Becket, 
74 ; achievements, 80. 

Henry III, character of, 104 ; confirms 
Great Charter, 104 ; trouble with 
barons, 106-111; Provisions of Ox- 
ford, 107; Barons' War, 107; and 
de Montfort, 108-111. 

Henry IV, accession of, 161, 162; charac- 
ter of, 163; tries to suppress the 
Lollards, 163 ; revolt under Glen- 
dower, 164 ; revolt of the Percys, 164 ; 
battle of Shrewsbury, 164. 

Henry V, character of, 166 ; and the Lol- 
lards, 167, 168 ; war with France, 
168-170; Battle of Agincourt, 169; 
Treaty of Troyes, 169. 

Henry VI, 170; character of, 173; Joan 
of Arc saves France, 171 ; Cade's 
Rebellion, 174, 175; Wars of the 
Roses, 176-184; deposed, 178. 

Henry VII, 183 ; character of, 187 ; union 
of York and Lancaster, 183 ; methods 
of raising money, 192 ; and Foreign 
Affairs, 193; Renaissance in England, 
193, 194; America discovered, 195. 



Henry VIII, character of, 195, 224, 225; 
marries Catharine of Aragon, 195 ; 
and Wolsev, 196-204 ; victory at 
Flodden Field, 196; The Field of the 
Cloth of Gold, 198, 199 ; tries to di- 
vorce Catharine, 202-207 ; marries 
Anne Boleyn, 202 ; breaks with Rome, 
205, 208; Act of Supremacy (1534), 
208; destroys monasteries, 210-213; 
beheads Anne Boleyn, 214; marries 
Jane Seymour, 214 ; marries Anne of 
Cleves, 217; later marriages, 218; 
relations with Ireland, 219, 220; re- 
lations with Scotland, 221 ; debases 
coinage, 222 ; relations with France, 
222. 

Hereward the Wake, 53. 

High Church Party, Rise of, 370. 

High Commission, Court of, 307. 

Hill, Rowland, 493. 

Holland, war with (1652), 339. 

Holland, see also Dutch. 

Holy Alliance (1815), 478, 480. 

Holyrood Palace, 262. 

Hooper, Bishop, 240. 

Hotham, Sir John, 321. 

Hotspur, 164. 

House of Commons, gains share in legis- 
lation (1322), 131 ; first case of im- 
peachment, 146; grows in impor- 
tance, 148 ; see Parliament. 

House of Lords, Abbots removed from, 
213; abolished (1649), 333; restored 
(1660), 351 ; no power to reject 
money bills, 537 note ; see Parliament ; 
Parliament Bill (1911), (Veto) 539 ; see 
Parliament. 

Howard, John, 454. 

Howard, Lord, Admiral, 275. 

Hubert de Burgh, 105. 

"Humble Petition and Advice" (1657), 
349. 

Hundreds, 50. 

Hundred Years' War, 133-173. 

Huskisson, William, 476-478. 

Hyde, Edward, see Clarendon, Earl of. 

Impeachment, 146 ; defined, 316 note, 
318 note; of Lord Bacon, 296; of 
Strafford, 314-316; of Warren Hast- 
ings, 457. 

Impressment of American sailors, 472. 

Independents, 277, 328, 332, 336, 356 
note. 

India, Clive in, 434-436 ; Fox's Bill, 447, 
448 ; Pitt's Bill, 457 ; Warren Hast- 
ings and, 457; Mutiny (1857-1858), 
502-504 ; Victoria, Empress of, 515 
and note. 

India, East, Company, see East India 
Company. 

Indulgence, Declarations of, see Declara- 
tions of Indulgence. 

Industrial Revolution, 450 ; effects of, 
455, 456, 499. 

Industry, see Manufacture. 

"Instrument of Government" (1653), 342. 

Interdict (defined), 83 note ; of 1208, 87. 

Inventions, great, 450, 531. 

Ionian Isles, 474 and note. 

Ireland, account of early, 74, 75 ; at- 



INDEX 



643 



tempted conquest by Henry II, 74, 
75; Statute of Kilkenny (1367), 1.50; 
the Pale, 150, 190; Irish Parliament, 
190; Poynings' Act (1494), 190, 440; 
under Henry VIII, 219-221 ; rebellion 
under Fitzgerald (1533), 220; Queen 
Elizabeth and, 277-278 ; colonized by 
James I, 293; Wentworth in, 309, 
310 ; Cromwell in, 335, 336 ; Restora- 
tion in, 359 ; independence of, pro- 
claimed, 392; James II, lands in, 
(1689), 392; "The Great Act of 
Attainder" (16S9), 392; Siege of 
Londonderry, 392 ; intolerance to- 
wards Catholics, 393, 394 ; exports 
of cloth, prohibited, 394 ; Land 
Grants (1699, 1700), 402, 403; trade 
crushed (1706), 414; Irish Parlia- 
ment (1782), 445, 462; "United 
Irishmen," 462; Orangemen, 462; 
rebellion (1798), 463; union with 
Great Britain (1800), 463-465; 
Irish Parliament abolished (1801), 
464 ; rebellion under Emmet, 467 ; 
Reform Bill (1832), 483; Coercion 
Act (1833), 485; demands repeal of 
Act of Union, 490; famine (1845- 
1846), 496, 497; disestablishment of 
Episcopal church in, 511; Land 
League (1879), 517; Land Act (1881), 
517; Home Rule (1885, 1893), 520, 
521; Irish Land Act (1903), 534; 
Irish Home Rule (1912), passed 
House of Commons, 544. 

Irish church disestablished, 511. 

Irish Tithe Act (1838), 490 and note. 

Ireton, 329. 

Jacobites, meaning of name, 397 note, 
419, 430. 

James I of Scotland, 164. 

James I, born, 262 ; character of, 288, 289 ; 
accession of, 289 ; Millenary Petition 
(1603), 289, 290; Hampton Court 
Conference (1604), 290; proclaims 
divine right of kings, 290 ; attitude 
towards religion, 290, 291 ; foreign 
policy, 292 ; colonizes America, 293, 
294 ; colonizes Ireland, 293 ; and fa- 
vorites, 294, 295 ; attitude towards 
Catholics, 295 ; proposes Spanish 
marriages, 295, 298 ; conflict with 
Parliament, 297, 298. 

James II, character of, 372, 373 ; Efforts 
to restore Catholicism, 373, 375, 376 
"Bloody Assize" (1685), 374, 375 
Monmouth's Rebellion, 374, 375 
Declarations of Indulgence, 375, 376 
birth of a son, 376; "The Seven 
Bishops," 376; William of Orange 
invited to England, 377; flight of, 
378; Revolution of 1688, 379; in 
Ireland, 392 ; siege of Londonderry, 
392 ; Battle of the Boyne, 393 ; flees 
to France, 393. 

James, Duke of York, 366 ; marries Mary 
of Modena, 367 ; and Exclusion Act, 
3(59. 

James, The Old Pretender, 407, 419, 420. 

Jameson's Raid, 526 and note. 

Jane Grey, Lady, 232, 233, 237. 



Jane Seymour, 214, 215. 

Japan, 529 ; treaty with, 533, 534. 

Jeffreys, Judge, 372 and note, 375. 

Jenkins's Ear, War of, 428. 

Jennings, Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, 
408, 409, 414. 

Jesuits come to England, 267. 

Jewries, 117. 

Jews, 117-119; expulsion of, by Edward 
I, 118-119; Cromwell's policy to- 
wards, 345; admitted to Parliament, 
479 note. 

John, character, 85 ; murder of Prince 
Arthur, 85, 86 ; loses French posses- 
sions, 86; quarrels with church, 86, 
87 ; Pope deposes him, 87 ; does 
homage to the Pope, 87 ; and the 
Barons, 88-91; The Great Charter 
(1215), 89, 90. 

John of Gaunt, see. Gaunt. 

Joan of Arc, 171, 172. 

Junto, 401 and note. 

Justiciars, 69, 103. 

Jutes, 12. 

Kent, Duchess of, 488 and note. 

Ket's Rebellion (1549), 230, 246. 

Killiekrankie, Battle of, 395. 

King, Anglo-Saxon, how chosen and de- 
posed, 49 ; hereditary succession 
acknowledged, 112; choice of, rests 
with Parliament, 379 ; must be Prot- 
estant, 406; accession oath altered, 543. 

Kitchener, Lord, 528, 529. 

Knight, 94 ; become landowners, 69. 

Knighthood, Compulsory, 116. 

Knox, John, 259, 260. 

Kruger, Paul, 526, 527. 

Labor, Anglo-Saxon, 48 ; Norman, 95-97 ; 
effect of Black Death, 141 ; Statute 
of Laborers (1351), 142; Peasants' 
Revolt (1381), 151-154; increase. of 
pauperism, 245; Statute of Appren- 
tices (1563), 258; Poor Laws (1563, 
1601), 258; in 17th century, 383; dis- 
ordered conditions (1819), 475, 476; 
Poor Law (1834), 484; Strikes and 
Trade Unions, 485 ; under Victoria, 
531, 532; Party, 536. 

Ladysmith, 528. 

La Hogue, battle of, 397. 

Lancaster, the Red Rose of, 176. 

Lancaster, Wars of the Roses, 176-184 ; 
union of, and York, 183. 

Land, at time of Norman conquest, 47, 48 ; 
Bookland, 47 ; Folkland, 47 ; Loan- 
land, 48; systems of holding, 47, 174, 
244, 246; under Feudalism, 56; and 
Domesday Book, 57, 58 ; manorial 
system, 94-97, 244 ; open field sys- 
tem, 95-97 ; three field system, 97 
note ; Enclosures, 174 ; monastic, 
seizure by Henry VIII, 212, 213; In- 
closure Acts (George III), 452; new 
valuation of (1909), (New Domesday 
Book), 537. 

Lanfranc, Archbishop, 56, 59. 

Langton, Stephen, 86-S9, 91. 

Langland, William, 148, 149. 

Language, English, becomes that of the 



6 4 4 



INDEX 



people, 102 ; English, increased use 
of, 148. 

Lansdowne, Lord, 539. 

Latimer, Bishop, 240 and note. 

Laud, Archbishop, 306, 308, 309, 312, 317 ; 
executed, 326. 

Laws, see Acts, Bills, Statutes. 

Layamon, 102. 

"League and Covenant, Solemn" (1643), 
325, 326. 

Learning, advancement of, under Henry 
VII, 193, 194. 

Leicester, Earl of, 279. 

Leighton, Alexander, 307, 308. 

Levellers, 230. 

Lewes, Battle of, 108. 

Lexington, Battle of, 443. 

Liberal Party, rise of, 484 and note, 509, 
510, 512, 514, 516. 

Liberal-Unionists, 520. 

Limerick, Treaty of (1691), 393. 

Literature, Alfred's service to, 29-31 ; 
Early, 51 ; in 15th and 16th centuries, 
251 ; under Elizabeth, 279, 280, 284 ; 
17th century, 387, 388; in Norman 
Britain, 702. 

Liverpool, 451. 

Liverpool, Lord, 475, 476. 

Lloyd George, David, see George, Lloyd. 

Loanland, 48. 

Lollards, meaning of name, 157 note, rise 
of, 157; suppression of, 157; under 
Henry IV, 163; Henry V, 167, 168. 

London, Roman times, 7 ; Tower of, 54 ; 
Plague in, 361 ; Great Fire of, 362. 

Londonderry, Siege of, 392. 

Long Parliament, 314. 

Lords, Ordainers, 129 ; Appellant, 158. 

Louis XIV of France, Gharles II and, 360, 
364, 365, 368, 371 ; William of Orange 
(afterwards William III), and, 365, 
389, 396, 397, 404, 405; James II 
and, 396, 397; "Old Pretender" and, 
407, 419, 420; Anne and, 409-412. 

Low Church Party, Rise of, 370. 

Loyal Association, The, 401 and note. 

Lucknow, 504. 

Mad Parliament, 107. 

Magna Carta (1215), 89, 90; provisions 
of, 90; John absolved from oath, 91 ; 
confirmed bv Henry III, 104, 105. 

Mahdi, 519. 

Maid of Norway, 120. 

Major Generals, 344, 345. 

Majuba Hill, Battle of, 517. 

Malplaquet, 412. 

Malta, 465, 466, 474. 

Manchester meeting (1819), 475. 

Manorial System, 94, 97, 244. 

Manufacture, 245, 247, 250; under Eliza- 
beth, 258. 

Manufactures in 17th century, 382, 3S3 ; 
Industrial Revolution, 450, 455, 456, 
499. 

Mar, Earl of, 420. 

Margaret of Anjou, 174, 176-179. 

Marlborough, Duchess of, 408, 409, 414. 

Marlborough, Duke of, 409-414. 

Marsh. Adam, 112. 

Marston Moor, Battle of, 326. 



Mary, daughter of Henry VIII, 202. 

Mary I, character of, 234 ; Catholic re- 
action under, 234, 235 ; Spanish mar- 
riage, 235-238 ; Wyatt's Rebellion 
236 ; England restored to Rome, 238 
Persecution of Protestants, 239, 241 
loses Calais, 241. 

Mary, daughter of Duke of York (James 
II), 367 note, 368. 

Mary, Queen, see George V. 

Mary, Queen, see William and Mary. 

Mary, Queen of Scots, 256, 259 ; charac- 
ter of, 260, 261 ; marries Darnley, 
261, 262; marries Bothwell, 262, 
263 ; abdicates, 264 ; imprisoned by 
Elizabeth, 264, 265; trial and exe- 
cution of, 269, 270. 

Masham, Mrs., 414. 

Mason and Slidell, 508. 

Matilda, daughter of Henry I, 62, 63, 64, 
65. 

Matilda, wife of Henry I, 60. 

Merchant Adventures, 184. 

Merchant Gilds, 98. 

Mercia, 15, 22. 

Merciless Parliament, 158. 

Methodists, 453, 454. 

Middle Class, rise of, 243. 

Milan Decree (1807), 470. 

Militant suffragists, 541 note. 

Militia, made National, 78; Charles I 
and, 320; Militia Bill (1642), 320. 

Millenary Petition (1603), 289, 290. 

Milton, John, 388. 

Minimum Wage Bill (1912), 542. 

Mise of Amiens (1264), 107; of Lewes 
(1264), 109. 

Model Parliament, 123. 

Monasteries, dissolution of, 209-213 ; see 
also Monasticism. 

Monasticism, benefits of, 51 ; Dunstan, 
51; growth of, 100 ; evils of, 210, 211. 

Money, see Coinage. 

Montfort, Simon de, 108-111, 119. 

Monk, General, 337, 339. 

Monks, see Monasticism. 

Monmouth, Duke of, 370 and note, 373, 
374. 

Monopolies, under Elizabeth, 281 ; under 
Charles I, 300, 301. 

More, Sir Thomas, 194, 209; author of 
"Utopia," 209; execution of, 208. 

Morley, Lord, 539. 

Mortimer, Roger, 131, 133. 

Mortmain, 116 and note. 

"Morton's Fork," 192. 

Mount Badon, 13. 

Municipal Corporations Act (1835), 486 
and note. 

Mutiny Act (1689), 391 and note. 

Mutiny, Indian, 502-504. 

Napoleon Bonaparte, 460, 461, 465-468, 
470-473; at Waterloo, 473. 

Napoleon III (Louis), 498 and note, 500, 
502. 

Naseby, Battle of, 327. 

Navigation Acts, see Acts. 

Navy, beginning of, 28. 

Nelson, Lord, 460, 461, 467, 468 and note. 

Netherlands, see Dutch. 



INDKX 



645 



Nevil's Cross, Battle of, 140. 

New Forest , 58, 

"New Model Army," 326, 327. 

Newport, Treaty of (1648), 330. 

News Letter, 382. 

Newspaper, early, 381. 

New York, 360; origin of name, 361. 

Nightingale, Florence, 501, 502 ami note, 

Nile, Battle of the, 461. 

Nonconformists, Brownists, 277; Con- 
gregationalists, 277; independents, 
277, 32S, 332, 330; Separatists, 277; 
Presbyterians, 320, 328, 332, 331, 
336; Quakers, 353, 350 note, 357. 

Nonconformists, fire also Dissenter. 

Non-jurors, 390. 

Norman Conquest, 40; results of, 93. 

Normandy, origin of, 26 ; bequest of, to 
Robert, 59; conquered by Henry I, 
61 ; loss of, by John, 86, 92 ; all 
claims to French land given up' by 
Edward III, 143. 

Normans, influence of, 41, 42. 

North, Lord, 442, 445, 447. 

Northampton, Treaty of (1328), 133. 

Northmen, 25, 26. 

Northumberland (John Dudley), Duke 
of, assumes leadership, 231 ; policy of, 
232 ; and Lady Jane Grey conspiracy, 
232, 233; execution of, 233. 

Northumbria, 14, 22. 

Oates, Titus, 368, 369. 

Occasional Conformity Act (1711), 415, 

421. 
O'Connell, Daniel, 479, 490. 
Offa, 22. 

Old Age Pension Bill (1908), 536. 
Oldcastle, Sir John, 167. 
Old Sarum, 432 and note, 481. 
Opium trade, 494, 495 and note ; war, 495. 
Orange Free State, 506, 527. 
Orangemen, 462 and note, 463. 
Ordeal trial by, 50 and note. 
Orders in Council (1806-1807), 469, 470. 
"Ordinances," 129, 131. 
Orleans, Siege of, 170-172. 
Oudenarde, Battle of, 411. 
Oxford, 101, 194, 200, 512. 
Oxford, Provisions of, 107. 

Pale, English, 150, 190. 

Palmerston, Lord, 493, 500, 509. 

Paris, Peace of (1763), 439. 

Parliament, first use of name, 106 ; the 
" Mad," 107 ; of 1265, " The Famous," 
110; all classes represented in, 110; 
the "Model" (1295), 123; gains, 
control of taxes and revenue, 125, 
148; "The Good" of Edward III, 
146, 147; growth of, under Edward 
III, 147, 148; the "Merciless" of 
Richard II, 158; of Shrewsbury, 100; 
privileges gained, Henry V, 107; rec- 
ognizes Henrv VII, 183 ; the Irish, 
190; Wolsey and, 200; under Henrv 
VIII, 200, 201, 204, 205; Abbots 
removed from House of Lords, 213; 
and Gunpowder Plot, 291, 292; 
James I, conflict with, 292, 297-298 ; 
Addled Parliament, 296 ; James I 



tears record, 29S ; First of Charles I 
29!) 300; Second of Charles I, 300- 
Third of Charles I, 301 ; of 1029, 303, 
30-1 ; The Petition of Rjghl (1628), 
301 ; "Short," 313; "Long," 314; 
Triennial Act (1041), 310; "The 
Grand Remonstrance" (1641), 317; 
arrest, of live members, 318; gov- 
ernment by, 320 and note, "Self- 
denying Ordinance," 320; " Heads of 
Proposals," 329, 330; " Pride's Purge" 
331 ; "The Rump," 331 ; House of 
Lords (1049), abolished, 333; House 
of Lords restored (1000), nr,] ■ ( 'rom- 
well expels "The Hump," 340; 
"Barebones," 340, 341 ; First Pro- 
tectorate, 34 1 ; Second Protectorate, 
348, 349; "Humble Petition and 
Advice" (1657), 349; Convention, 
351, 352; Cavalier, 354; "Second 
Long," 354, 355; "Drunken," 358; 
Catholics excluded from, 369 ; Ox- 
ford, 370; Triennial Bill (1694), 398; 
Act of Settlement (1701), 406; Un- 
equal representation in, 418; Sep- 
tennial Act (1716), 421; debates of, 
published, 447; Catholics read- 
mitted to (1829), 479; Jews admitted 
to (1829), 479 note, reforms in (1830 
1832), 4S0-485 ; many cities not rep- 
resented in, 481; reform of (1867), 
510; Ballot Act (1872), 512; Fran- 
chise Bill (1884), 519; Redistribu- 
tion Bill (1885), 519 ; Veto Bill (1911) 
539 ; payment of members, 540 ; 
see House of Commons, House of 
Lords, 

Parnell, Charles Stewart, 517 and note, 
518 note, 521. 

Parties, rise of political, 369; party min- 
istry, 400. 

Parties, see also Conservative, Liberal, 
Torv, Whig. 

Partition Treaties (1698, 1700), 404, 105. 

" Passive resistance" 534 note. 

Pauperism in 15th and 16th centuries, 213, 
245; under Elizabeth, 258, 259; 
under Victoria, 531, 532. 

Peace, see Treaties. 

Peasants' Revolt (1381). 151, 152. 

Peel, Sir Robert, 476, 477, 479, 485, 495, 
496 and note. 

Peninsular War, 470. 

Penn, Sir William, 347, 348. 

Penny Postage, 493. 

Pension, Old Age Bill, 530. 

"People's Charter" (1838), 491, 492. 

Percys, revolt of (Henrv IV), 104. 

Petition, Millenary (1603), 289, 290; of 
Right (1628), 301, 302 and note. 

"Petitioners." 309. 

Pevensev, William the Conqueror, lands 
at, 40. 

Philip Augustus, S5-88. 

Philip II of Spain, marries Mary I, 235- 
238; wishes to marry Elizabeth, 250; 
plans to invade England, 273, 271; 
and the Armada, 271 270. 

Philippa, Queen, and Calais, 140. 

Piets and Scots, 12. 
Piers Plowman, 149. 



646 



INDEX 



Pilgrim Fathers, 293. 

Pilgrimage of Grace (1536), 213, 214. 

Pinkie Cleugh, Battle of, 229, 259. 

Pitt, William, Earl of Chatham, 432 ; re- 
stored to power, 437 ; resigns, 439 ; 
Prime Minister, 441. 

Pitt, William, the younger, 447-469 ; 
Prime Minister, 448 ; character, 449 ; 
India Bill, 457 ; and Finances, 458. 

Plague, The (1665), 361. 

Plague, "The Black Death," 141. 

Plantagenet, meaning of name, 66 ; the 
first in England, 66. 

Plassev, Battle of, 436. 

"Plural voting," 537, 538. 

Plymouth, Massachusetts, 293. 

"Pocket boroughs," 481 note, 483. 

Poitiers, Battle of (1356), 142. 

Pole, Cardinal, 217 and note, 238, 239, 241. 

Police force, reformed by Peel, 477. 

Poll Tax, 151 and note. 

Poor Laws, of Elizabeth, 258, 259; of 
18th centurv, 452, of 1834, 458. 

"Popish Plot," 368, 369. 

Postage, penny, 493. 

Poynings' Acts (1494), 190, 446. 

Praemunire, Statute of (1353), 149, 206. 

Prayer Book, English, 230, 231, 254. 

Presbyterianism, 255 ; in Scotland (Cal- 
vinists), 259; Charles I and, 312, 313, 
327 ; in England, 326, 328, 329, 332, 
334, 336, 356 note, 358. 

Press, freedom of the, 400 and note. 

Prestonpans, Battle of, 429. 

"Pretender, The Old," 407, 419, 420. 

"Pretender, The Young," 429-431 and 
note. 

"Pride's Purge," 331. 

Prime minister, his power, 489. 

Prince Albert, see Albert. 

Prince Eugene of Savov, 411 and note. 

Prince of Wales, the first, 120. 

"Princess, Little, in the Tower," 182. 

Printing introduced into England, 185. 

Prison reform, 454. 

"Pro-Boers," 528 note. 

Progresses, Royal, 284. 

Protector, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, 
182; Somerset, Duke of, 227-231; 
Cromwell, Oliver, 342; Cromwell, 
Richard, 350. 

Provisions of Oxford (1258), 107, 109; 
of Westminster (1259), 111. 

Prynne, William, 308. 

Puritans, rise of, 255, 276 ; Millenary Pe- 
tition" (1603), 289; Hampton Court 
Conference (1604), 290; many emi- 
grate, 307; Revolution, Chap. XX, 
reaction against, 357, 358. 

Purveyance, 354 and note. 

Pym, John, 301, 313, 314, 325. 

Quakers, 353, 356 note, 357. 

Quebec, Fall of, 438. 

Quia Emptores (1290), 117. 

Raleigh, Walter, Sir, 280, 281, 286, 290, 

294. 
Ramilies, Battle of, 411. 
Recoinage Act (1696), 401. 
Red Cross Society, 501. 



Reformation, the English, 226, 228, 230, 
231, 234; established, 254, 255. 

Reform Bill (1832), 482 and note, 484, 
492 (1867), 510. 

Regency Bill (1788), 458. 

Regent, Prince of Wales acts as (1810- 
1820), 475. 

Regicides punished bv Charles II, 354. 

Remonstrance, The Grand (1641), 317. 

Renaissance in England, 193, 194. 

Revolution (1688), 376, 378. 

Revolution, American, 443-447. 

Rhodes, Cecil, 525. 

Richard I, "Cceur de Lion," 81; how 
he raised funds, 81, 84 ; goes on Cru- 
sade, 82 ; captured, 83 ; ransomed, 
83 ; death, 84. 

Richard II, 151; poll tax, 151; Wat 
Tyler rebellion, 152-154; Wycliffe 
and the Lollards, 155-158 ; the " Mer- 
ciless Parliament," 158; deposed, 
161; death of, 162; character of, 
162. 

Richard III revolts against, 182, 183; 
killed at Bosworth Field, 183. 

Richard, Duke of Gloucester, 182. 

Ridley, Bishop, 240. 

Ridoffi Plot, 267. 

Riot Act (1715), 419. 

Rizzio, David, 262. 

Roads, 381, 451. 

Robert, son of William I, 59, 60, 61. 

Roberts, Lord, 528. 

Roebuck, John, 451. 

Rogers, John, 240. 

Romans, first in Britain, 4, 5 ; invade 
Britain, 5, 6 ; their occupation of 
Britain, 6-10; withdraw from Brit- 
ain, 10, 11. 

"Root and Branch" Bill (1641), 317. 

Rose, the Red, Lancaster, 176 ; the 
White, York, 176. 

Roseberv, Lord, 52. 

Roses, Wars of the, 176-184. 

"Rotten boroughs," 481 and note, 483. 

Roundheads and Cavaliers, 324. 

Roval Society founded (1662), 388. 

"Rump, The," 331, 334, 340, 350. 

Runnymede, 89. 

Rupert, Prince, 324, 325, 326, 334. 

Russell, Lord John, 479, 482 and note, 
496, 497-500, 504 note, 508, 510. 

Russell, Lord William, executed, 372. 

Ru.sso-Turkish War (1877-1878), 515. 

Rye House Plot, 372. 

Ryswick, Peace of (1697), 397, 403, 407. 

Saint Albans, Battle of, 176. 

Saint Paul's Cathedral, 386. 

Saladin Tax, 79. 

Salisbury, Lord, 520-523, 532. 

Salisbury, Oath of (10S6), 57. 

Salvation Army, 532 and note. 

Saratoga, Battle of, 444. 

Sarum, Old, 432 and note, 481. 

Sawtre, William, 166. 

Saxons, on the continent, 12 ; character 
of, 12; come to Britain, 13; settle- 
ments of, 14-16. 

Schism Act (1714), 415, 421. 

Schools, see Education. 



INDEX 



647 



Scotland, William the Lion does homage 
to Henry II, 77, 78, 80; the succes- 
sion and Edward I, 120-122; rebel- 
lion under Wallace, 120, 127; Robert 
Bruce, 127, 128, 130; wins independ- 
ence at Bannockburn, 130 ; regains 
independence, 133; war with Eng- 
land, 134 ; Reformation in, 250 ; 200 ; 
the Church and Charles I, 312, 313; 
revolt against Charles I, 313; union 
with England (1652), 337; given 30 
members in Parliament, 337 ; Res- 
toration in, 358; persecution of 
Covenanters, 359 ; uprising in (1685), 
374, 375; Revolution in (1689), 
394-396; Claverhouse, 395; Mas- 
sacre of Glencoe, 395 ; the Old Pre- 
tender, 407, 420 ; union with England 
(1707), 414; rising under Mar, 420; 
the Young Pretender, 429-431 and 
note; Reform Bill (1832), 483. 

Scots and Picts, 12. 

"Second Civil War," 330. 

Sedgemoor, Battle of, 374. 

Self-denving Ordinance (1645), 326. 

Senlac, Battle of, 40. 

Separatists, 277. 

Sepoy rebellion, 503, 504. 

Septennial Act (1716), 421. 

Serfs, 95. 

Settlement, Act of (1661), 359, of (1701), 
406. 

Sevastopol, siege of, 501, 402. 

Seven Bishops, the, and James II, 376. 

Seven Years' War, 437, 439. 

Seymour, Jane, 214, 215. 

Shaftesbury, Lord, 484 note. 

Shakespeare, 280, 284. 

Sheriff (shirereeve), 50 and note. 

"Ship money," 310. 

Shires or Counties, 49. 

Short Parliament, 313. 

Shrewsbury, Battle of, 164. 

Sidney, Algernon, executed, 372. 

Simnel and Warbeck Rebellions, 188, 191. 

Simon de Montfort, see Montfort. 

Six Acts, 476. 

Six Articles of Faith, 217. 

Slave trade, "The Assiento," 413, 454, 
457, 469. 

Slavery abolished in British dominions, 
448. 

Slaves, earlv English, 48. 

Sluys, Battle of, 137. 

Smith, Adam, 452, 458. 

Social Life, Anglo-Saxon, 43-57 ; Norman- 
English, 93-103; 15th and 16th cen- 
turies, 246-251 ; 17th century, 383- 
386. 

Solemn League and Covenant (1643), 
325, 326. 

Solway Moss, Battle of, 221. 

Somerset (Edward Seymour), Duke of, 
chosen Protector, 227 ; character 
and policy of, 228-231 ; executed, 
231. 

Sophia, Electress of Hanover, 406 and 
note, 415. 

South Africa, 506, 523 ; Boer War, 524- 
528 ; Union of, 542. 

South Sea Scheme, 421-423 and note. 



Spain, James I and, 295, 298; war with, 
under Charles I, 299, 300; see Philip 
II. 

Spanish Armada, 274-276; succession 
403-407; War ol. 410. 

"Sports, Book of," 309. 

Stamford Bridge, Battle of, 38. 

Stamp Act, American (1705), 1(1, 443. 

Star Chamber, 191 and note. 

Star Chamber, The Court, of, 307, 308. 

Statutes, of Parliament, see also acts and 
bills; Gloucester (1278), 115; Mort- 
main (1279), 116; De Religiosis, 
(1279), 116; Westminster (127.5), 
115; Westminster II (1285), 117 • 
Winchester (1285), 116; Quia Emp- 
tores (1290), 117; Wales (1283), 
120; Laborers (1351), 142; Pro- 
visors (1351), 149; Kilkennv (1307). 
150; Praemunire (1353), 149, 206; 
Supremacy (1534), 208; Supremacy 
(1559), 254; Apprentices (1563), 
258; Uniformity (1559), 254. 

Steam engine, Watt's, 450. 

Stephen and the barons, 64 ; civil war, 
64, 65. 

Stephen of Blois, 63. 

Stonehenge, 4. 

Strafford, Earl of (Thomas Wentworth), 
306-316 ; policy of "Thorough," 308 ; 
impeachment and execution of, 314- 
316. 

Strikes (1833), 485; (1910-1912), dock, 
541; railway, 542; coal miners, 542. 

Stuart, Charles (the Young Pretender), 
429-431 and note. 

Stuart, James (the "Old Pretender"), 
407, 419, 420. 

"Submission of the Clergy," 205. 

Succession, Royal, 406. 

Sudan, 519, 528, 529. 

Suez Canal, 514 and note, 529. 

Suffrage, see Bills, Reform ; woman, 540; 
541. 

"Suffragettes," 540, 541. 

Surrey, Earl of, 223. 

Swegen, the Danish king, 35. 

Tariff Reforms (1842), 495, 496. 

Taxes Roman, 8 ; Danegeld, 34 ; under 
Normans, 57, 58 ; Domesday Book 
and, 57, 58 ; under Henry II. 69 ; 
Saladin, 79 ; restricted by Confir- 
matio Cartarum, 124, 125; Poll, 
(1379), 151 and note, Henry Mi's 
policy, 192 ; illegal under James I, 
292, 296; and Petition of Right 
(1689), 301; Ship Money, 311 ; under 
Long Parliament, 316; Cromwell 
taxes Cavaliers, 344 ; on American 
colonies, 440, 441 ; Budget (1909), 
536-538. 

Tea introduced into England, 385 and 
note. 

Telegraph, 531. 

Telephone, 531. 

Tenchbrai, Battle of, 61. 

Test Act (1673). 366, 307. 375, 479. 

Teutonic tribes come to Britain, 12-14. 
Conquest, 12-14, 16 ; early kingdoms 
in Britain, 14-16; civilization, 16-17. 



648 



INDEX 



Tewkesbury, Battle of, 179. 

Thegn, 48. 

Theodore of Tarsus, 21. 

Thirtv-nine Articles of Religion, 232. 

Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), 296, 
310, 325. 

"Thorough," Policy of, 308. 

Toleration, religious, not understood, 
239, 303 ; under Cromwell, 345 ; Act 
(1689), 390, 394. 

"Tonnage and poundage," 299, 303, 304. 

Tory, origin of name, 369 and note. 

Tory Party, under William III, 392, 400, 
401, 406; under Anne, 414; under 
George II, 427 ; under George III, 
"New Toryism," 460; called Con- 
servatives, 489 note, 490. 

Tower of London, 54. 

Town Charters, attacked, 371. 

Towns, Roman, 8 ; Norman, 46. 

Towns and Town Life, 46, 81, 97, 247, 
371, 380, 381. 

Townshend Acts (1767), 441. 

Townships, 50. 

Towton, Battle of, 178. 

Trade and Commerce, 184, 224, 248, 286, 
293, 294, 382, 413, 433, 485, 494. 

Trade Unions forbidden, 456; allowed, 
478. 

Trafalgar, Battle of, 467. 

Transvaal Republic, 506, 516, 517, 526- 
528. 

Travel, in 17th century, 381 ; in 18th 
century, 451 ; Amiens (1802), 465. 

Treaty, of Aix-Ia-Chapelle (1748), 431, 433 ; 
Berwick (1639), 313 ; Bretignv (1360) 
143; Dover (1670), 364, 365; Lim- 
erick (1691), 393; Northampton 
(1328), 133; Paris (1763), 439; 
Paris (1814), 471, 506; Paris (1856), 
502; Partition (1698, 1700), 404, 
405; Ryswick (1697), 397, 403, 407; 
Troyes (1420), 169; with United 
States (1783), 447; Utrecht (1713), 
412, 413, 419, 422, 428; Wallingford 
(1153), 66; Wedmore (878), 28. 

Trent, affair, the, 508. 

Triennial Bill (1641), 316; (1664), 355; 
(1694), 398. 

Trinidad, 474, 505. 

Triple Alliance (1716), 421; (1788), 458. 

Troyes, Treaty of (1420), 169. 

Tudor, Genealogy of family, 160 ; Ed- 
mund, 180; Henry, 180; gains the 
crown, 182; marries Elizabeth of 
York, 183. 

Turkey, "a great power," 502, 515, 516, 
523. 

Tvler, Wat, 152, 154. 

Tvndale, William, 215, 216; his Bible, 
215, 216. 

Uitlanders, 525-527. 

Ulster, colonization of, by Scotch and 
English, 293 ; siege of Londonderry, 
392; Tenant Right, 511 note. 

Union, Act of (1800), 463, 490. 

Unionists, 523. 

Union Jack, flag, 465. 

Union of South Africa, 542. 

"United Irishmen," 462. 



United States, see America. 

Universities, founded, 101, 102; "Oxford 
Reformers," 194 ; religious tests, abol- 
ished, 512. 

"Utopia," Sir Thomas More's, 209. 

Utrecht, Peace of (1713), 412, 413, 419, 
422, 428. 

Van Tromp, 339. 

Venables, Robert, 347, 348. 

Venezuela boundary dispute, 523. 

Veto Act or Parliament Bill (1911), 538, 
539. 

Victoria, a transition period, 488 ; mar- 
ries Prince Albert, 489 ; Chartism, 
491, 493 ; Chinese War (Opium War), 
494, 495; Crimean War, 494, 500- 
502, 513; Irish famine, 496, 497; 
Indian Mutiny, 502-504 ; death of 
Prince Albert, 507 ; American Civil 
War, 507-509 ; Trent affair, the, 508 ; 
Alabama, Claims, the, 509 note, 513; 
Reform Bills (1866, 1867), 510; Irish 
Land Act (1870), 511; Elementary 
Education Act (1870), 511; Empress 
of India, 515; Sudan, the, 519, 528, 
529; South Africa, 506, 517; Boer 
War, 527, 528, 630; Territorial Ex- 
pansion, 523-524 ; Diamond Jubilee, 
530 ; her death, 530 ; character of, 
530 ; review of reign, 530-532. 

Vienna, Congress of (1814-1815), 471- 
473. 

Villeins, 95. 

Yilliers, Charles, 492. 

Virginia, colonization of, 293. 

Wages, effect of "Black Death" on (1349), 
141, 142; effect of Poll Tax (1380), 
151 ; in 15th and 16th centuries, 247, 
250 ; under Elizabeth, 258 ; minimum 
(1912), 542. 

Wakefield, Battle of, 177. 

Wales, and Henry II, 80; conquered by 
Edward I, 119, 120; first Prince of, 
120; Statute of (1283), 120; and 
Henry IV, 164; disestablishment of 
the English church in (1913), 545. 

Wallace, William 126-128. 

Wallingford, Treaty of (1153), 66. 

Walpole, Sir Robert, 423-425; prime 
minister, 423 ; policy of, 424, 427, 428. 

Walsingham, Sir Francis, 253. 

Wapentakes, 50. 

Warbeck and Simnel Rebellions, 188, 
191. 

Warwick, Earl of (15th century), 178, 
"kingmaker," 179. 

Wars, see names of, as "Civil," etc. 

Wars of the Roses, 176-184. 

Washington, George, 436, 444. 

Waterloo, Battle of (1815), 473. 

Watling street, Roman road, 7. 

Wat Tyler, 152, 154. 

Watt, James, 450. 

Wedmore, Treaty of (878), 28. 

Wellesley, Sir Arthur, see Wellington. 

Wellington, Duke of, 470, 473, 482, 493. 

Wentworth, Thomas, Earl of Strafford. 
see Strafford. 

Wesley, John and Charles, 453. 



INDEX 



649 



W 'I'slcyans, 4.53, 454. 
Wessex, or West Saxons, 26. 
West Indies, 505, 506 and note 
Westminster Abbey, buill by Edward the 
Confessor, 46 and note, Henry VII's 
ehapel, 187. 
Wexford, Battle of, 335 and note. 
Whig, origin of name, 369 and note, Party 
under William III, 392, 400, 401, 406 : 
under Anne, 410, 412, 414- under 
George I, 418-423 ; under George II 
427; under George III, 446; under 
William IV, 482; call themselves 
Liberal, 484. 
Whitby, Council of, 20. 
Whitefield, George, 153. 
"White Ship, The," 62. 
"White Tower," 54. 
Wilberforce, William, 454, 457. 
Wilkes, John, 440 and note. 
William I, quells rebellions, 53, 54, 56- 
and the church, 56; and feudalism,' 
56, 57 ; holds great meeting at Salis- 
bury, 57; Domesday Book, 57, 58- 
death of, 58. 
William II, Rufus, 59; trouble with 
barons, 59 ; trouble with church, 59 • 
and Anselm, 59, 61 ; charter to the 
barons, 60 ; death of, 60. 
William and Mary, characters of, 389- 
Convention Parliament, 378, 389 • 
Declaration of Right (1688), 379 : 
Non-jurors, 390; Battle of the 
Boyne, 393; Treaty of Limerick, 
393 ; and Scotland, 394-396 ■ Mas- 
sacre of Glencoe, 395, 396 ; war with 
France, 396; Peace of Ryswick 
(1697), 397; National Debt, 398; 
Bank of England established, 398; 



I artition Treaties (Kills 17110), 404 
405; William's death, 407, 408. 
William IV, character of, 479 ISO, isr, • 
abolition of slavery, 1st; factory 
reform, 484 and note; need of par- 
liamentary reform, 480, 481 ■ Re- 
form Bill (1832), 482 and note, 484 
492. 

William the Norman, 39 ; claims to Eng- 
lish crown, 39 ; invades England, 40- 
fights Battle of Hastings (1066), 40- 
crowned, 41. 

William of Orange, 365, 368: invited to 
take English crown, 377 ; lands in 
England, 378. 

Winchester College, founded, 149 

Witenagemote, 35, 49. 

Wolfe, General, captures Quebec, 438 

Wolsey, Thomas, Cardinal, 196-204- rise 
Of, 196; policy of, 197, 201 ; and the 
divorce of Catherine, 203; fall and 
death of, 203, 204. 

Woman suffrage, 540, 541. 

Women and children, employment of 
16th century, 248-250; 18th century,' 
456, 484 note. 

Woolen trade, 245. 

Worcester, Battle of, 336. 

Wren, Sir Christopher, 387. 

Wyatt's Rebellion (1554), 236 

Wycliffe, John, 155-157; his Bible, 156 
157. 

Yeomen, 383. 

York, Parliament of, 131. 

York, Wars of the Roses, 176-184 ; union 

of, with Lancaster, 183. 
York, the White Rose, 176. 
Yorktown, Battle of, 445. 



INDEX TO APPENDIX I 



Adrian VI, 611 and note. 

Africa, Northern, 551. 

Alaric, the Goth, 549, 550. 

Albigenses, 588. 

Alfonso X, 592. 

Alva, Duke of, 616, 617. 

Attila, the Hun, 550, 551. 

Augsburg, Confession, 612; Diet of, 612; 

Peace of, 613, 621 ; Popes at, 597. 
Avignon, Popes at, 597, 605. 

"Babylonish Captivity," 597. 

Barbarians, 546-548. 

Basel, Council of, 600. 

Belisarius, 552, 554. 

Boniface VIII, 596. 

Bouvines, Battle of, 589. 

Bulls, Papal, Clericis laicos, 596, 597 ; 

Unam Sanctam, 596, 597 ; against 

Luther, 610. 

Calvin, John, 614. 

Capet, Hugh, 568, 593. 

Celibacy of the Clergy, 574. 

Chalons, Battle of, 551. 

Charlemagne, see Charles the Great. 

Charles I of England and Thirty Years' 

War, 623, 624. 
Charles the Bald, 563. 
Charles the Bold of Burgundy, 596. 
Charles the Great, 559-563 ; Coronation 

of, 561, 562; relations with England, 

562. 
Charles Martel, 535. 
Charles V, 610-613. 
Charles VII, 596. 
Charles IX, of France, 614. 
Christendom (1500), Extent of, 603. 
Cities and towns, 582, 5S3. 
Clermont, Council of, 577. 
Clovis, 554. 
Cluniac Rule, 573. 
Columbus, discovers America, 606. 
Compass, mariner's invented, 605, 606. 
Conrad II, 570. 

Constance, Council of, 598 and note, 600. 
Constantinople, fall of, 601. 
Copernicus, 607. 
Cortez, 606. 

"Counter Reformation," 619. 
Crusades, 577 and note ; first, 578, 582 ; 

second, 580 ; third, 580 ; fourth, 580 ; 

results of, 581, 582. 

Danes, 566 and note. 

Diaz, Bartholomew, 606. 

Diet, The Imperial, 604. 

Diets, Worms (1521), 610; Spires (1526), 

612; (1529), 612; Augsburg (1530), 

612. 



Discovery, age of, 606. 

Dominicans, 585. 

Dutch Republic (1572), 617. 

Eastern Empire, 576, 592, 601. 

Eck, John, 610. 

Electors of German Emperor, 591 note. 

Elizabeth (of England), and the Dutch, 

617, 618. 
Erasmus's Greek New Testament, 607. 
Excommunication, 575, 588. 

Ferdinand and Isabella, 593, 604. 

Feudalism, rise of, 564 : elements of, 565 
and note ; effects of, 565. 

"First Law," 590, 591. 

France, Medieval, 593, 594; (1500), 603. 

Francis I, 611, 612, 614. 

Francis II, 614. 

Francis, Saint, 584. 

Franciscans, 584 and note, 585. 

Franks, 547 note ; and the Church, 554. 

Frederick Barbarossa, 570, 5S6. 

Frederick II, 586, 589, 590. 

Frederick, Elector Palatine, King of Bo- 
hemia (Winter King), 621 and note, 
622. 

Frederick the Wise, 609. 

Friars, coming of, 584 ; mission of, 585. 

Gaiseric (Genseric), 551, 552. 

Genseric, see Gaiseric. 

Germany, rise of, 563, 564, 568; Rela- 
tions with Italy, 569 ; Medieval, 
570, 589-591, 604 (1618), 620, 625. 

Germanv (1500), 604. 

Gregory VII (Hildebrand), 574-576 and 
note. 

Guises, family of, 614. 

Gunpowder, invented, 605, 606. 

Gustavus Adolphus, 623, 624. 

Hanseatic League, 5S3 note. 

Hegira, the, 557 note. 

Henry III, 570, 614. 

Henry IV, 570. 

Henry VIII (of England), 611. 

Henry the Fowler, 56S, 569. 

Henry IV of Navarre, 614, 615. 

Heresv and Heretics, 588. 

Hildebrand (Gregory VII), 574-576 and 

note. 
Hohenstaufens, 590. 
"Holv Roman Empire," 562, 569, 570 

note, 620. 
Hugh Capet, 568, 593. 
Huguenots, 614, 615. 
"Humanists," 607. 
Huns, 547 note, 548, 550, 551. 
Hus, John, 599. 



650 



INDEX TO APPENDIX I 



651 



Indulgences, 609. 

Innocent III. 5S6, 5.N7, ")SS. 
Inquisition, 619, 620. 
Interdict, 575, 588. 
Inventions, 605. 
Investitures, 575, 576. 
Italy, relations with Germany, 569; in 
13th century, 591 ; about 1500, 605. 

.lanies I of England and Thirty Years' 

War, 622, 623. 
Jerome of Prague, 599. 
Jerusalem, 577 ; Kingdom of, 579. 
Jesuits, 619. 
Justinian, 554. 

Koran, 557 note. 

Langobards, see Lombards. 
Languages, growth of, 563. 
Latin Empire of the East, 580. 
Leicester, Earl of, and Holland, 618. 
Lombards, invade Italy, 556. 
Lothaire, 563. 

Louis IX (Saint), 595 and note. 
Louis XI, 596. 
Louis XIII, 615. 
Louis XIV, 625. 

Louis the German (Ludwig), 563. 
Louis the Pious, 563. 
Loyola, Ignatius, 619. 

Luther, Martin, 609 ; burns papal bull, 
610, 611-613. 

Magellan, 607. 

Mansfield, 622, 623. 

Martel, Charles, 555. 

Mary of Burgundy, 596. 

" Mayor of the palace," 555. 

Mazarin Bible, 605. 

Mecca, 557. 

Medici, Catherine de, 614. 

Medici, Marie de, 615. 

Medieval Times, beginning of, 563. 

Medina, 557. 

Melanchthon, 612. 

Merovingians, 555 and note. 

.Mohammedanism, 556-558. 

Monasticism, .",72; benefits of, 573. 

Money, use of, 583. 

Montfort, Simon de, 588. 

Moors in Spain, 558, 592. 

Nantes, Edict of (1598), 615. 
Netherlands, 616-618. 

Northmen in Europe, 566, 567; in Eng- 
land, 568; in France, 567, 568. 

Odoacer, 552, 553. 
Ostrogoths, 547 note, 553. 
Otto the Great, 569. 

Peasants' rising, 611. 
Petrarch, 607. 
Philip Augustus, 594. 
Philip II, 613, 614, 616. 



Philip IV (the Fair), 595, 

Pippin, 555. 

Pippin the Short, 555, 556, 559. 

Pizarro, 606. 

Pope, Growth of Papal Power, 570-572. 

Portuguese, discoverers, 606. 

Printing press invented, 605, 606. 

Protestants, 612. 

Reformation, Protest ant, 608. 

Religious Unrest (1500), 607, 608. 

"Renaissance Popes," 600. 

Rhine. League of, 5S3 note. 

Richelieu, 615, 616, 624. 

Rollo, 567 and note. 

Roman Empire, 547 and note ; causes of 

decay of, 548, 549 ; fall of, 549, 550. 
Roman law, 552. 
Rome (City), taken by Attila, 550; 

Gaiseric, 552. 
Rudolf of Hapsburg, 59. 

"Saint Bartholomew's Dav," 614. 
Saint Benedict, rule of, 572, 573. 
Saladin, 580. 

Saracens, culture and achievements, 558. 
"Schism, The Great," 597. 
"Schmalkalden, League of," 612 and note, 

613. 
Society of Jesus, 619. 
Spain, Moors in, 558, 592 ; the people in, 

592, 593 (1500), 604. 
Spanish Armada, 618. 
Spires, Diet of, 612. 
Sully, 615. 

Swabian League, 583 note. 
Switzerland, 591, 592. 

Tetzel, John, 609. 

Teutonic tribes, 547 note, 550 note ; law, 

552. 
Theodoric, 552, 553. 
Third Estate, The, 595. 
Thirty, Years' War, 612, 620-625. 
Tiers Etats, 595. 
Tilly, 622. 

Tours, Battle of, 555. 
Towns and cities, rise of, 582, 583. 
Trade, 582, 583. 
Trent, Council, of, 619, 620. 
Turks, in Europe, 601, 602; Ottoman, 

600; Seljuk, 576, 577, 600, 601. 

Universities, rise of, 586. 

Vandals, 550 note, 551, 552. 

Visigoths, 547 note, 548. 

Waldenses, 589, 614. 
Wallenstein, 622 and note, 623. 
Western Empire falls, 550. 
Westphalia, Peace of (1648), 624. 
William of Orange (the Silent), 617, 618. 
Wolsey, Cardinal, 611. 
Worms, Diet of, till). 



1913 





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